


Of Eagles & Snakes

by NotLostAnymore



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Alternate Universe - Magic, Angst, Enemies to Friends, Fluff, M/M, Slow Burn, Teenage Drama
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-06
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-29 19:20:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 79,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10142150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotLostAnymore/pseuds/NotLostAnymore
Summary: Gavin Free never expected to be told he was a wizard at eleven years old, nor did he expect a single one of the things that happened in the seven years that followed. Somehow, even among all the craziness that greeted him at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, falling in love was the biggest surprise of all.





	1. First Year

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For a complete listing of who is in what house, please see [here!](http://ramcour.tumblr.com/hogwartsau)

“It’s okay to be nervous,” Gavin’s mother told him, her voice soft and calming as if it had the ability to block out the whole world around it. “You’re so brave. My brave little boy.”

In that precise moment, Gavin didn’t exactly feel very brave. There he stood, eleven years old and terrified of being parted from his parents, even if it was to go to a school of magic. Just two months ago he thought he’d been an average boy, destined for a boring life working in retail or, _god forbid_ , construction with Dan and his family business. Now he stood on a hidden platform in King’s Cross station and he was most definitely anything but average. He’d been told he was a Muggleborn, a Wizard born into a magic-less family, and even if it sounded crazy at first, it explained a lot of the oddities that had surrounded him for months.

“There’s a whole new world waiting for you. Just think of everything you can do with this chance. With your _gift_. We’re so proud of you.”

Forcing a smile onto his face that displayed much more confidence than he actually felt, Gavin wrapped his arms around his mother and buried his face against her shoulder. “I’ll write every week,” he promised, voice muffled as he clung onto her for several more moments.

“Then I look forward to your letters,” she replied softly, stroking his hair as he finally pulled back. “Go on, the train will be leaving soon. Go find a seat, make friends.”

Not for the first time, Gavin felt a wave of insecurity wash over him. His immediate thought to being introduced to this new magical world had been overwhelming excitement and curiosity but soon that had given away to panic and fear. “What if they don’t like me because I’m _different_?” he asked, his voice wavering as his smile faltered.

The serenity displayed in his mother’s smile was enough to calm his rising nerves. “They’ll like you just fine,” she assured him, dusting down his jumper and straightening his collar. “Besides, you won’t be the only one there from a Muggle family. There’ll be other kids there like you. You’ll fit right in, I promise you.”

Stepping onto the Hogwarts Express for the first time sent a shiver down Gavin’s spine. He’d been on trains before but never any like this. The compartments gave it a classical feeling he’d only ever seen in old movies and it was far too clean to be compared with anything he’d travelled on before. He could feel the magic in the air, let alone witness it with his eyes when a scroll of parchment fly across the air, chased by two teenagers that almost knocked him over in the process.

Ducking into the closest compartment in order to prevent any future attempts to trample him, he was somewhat relieved to find that it was only occupied by a single other person rather than a whole group of friends. Back at his junior school Gavin had been moderately popular - or at least enough people had tolerated him enough to make him _feel_ popular - but he’d always struggled with meeting people in new environments. This was as foreign as new environments got and he felt more than a little out of his depth. Luckily the boy he’d joined in the compartment appeared to be the same age as him and thankfully even kind, judging by his polite smile.

“You a first year?” the boy asked as Gavin froze in the doorway, an awkward smile dancing across his lips. His voice seemed temporarily locked away so he nodded instead. “Same. If you’re looking for somewhere to sit then feel free,” he continued, waving towards the vacant seats opposite him.

“Cheers,” Gavin mumbled appreciatively, sinking into the seat offered to him. He could spy his mother through the window and instinctively waved. The boy turned to see what he was waving at and when he glanced back, his smile was somehow even warmer than it had been before. Gavin couldn’t stop his cheeks from heating up as caught the boy’s eye, embarrassed to be caught in the act. “I, uh, haven’t ever been to boarding school before,” he offered as an explanation.

Overall, Gavin wasn’t too surprised to receive a laughter in response but he hadn’t expected it to be a friendly laugh. He’d expected something more pitying or even cruel, not something so good-natured. “You’re a Muggleborn, aren’t you?” the boy guessed. Gavin smiled sheepishly before nodding. “That’s cool! I’ve never met a Muggleborn before. My name’s Jeremy, by the way. Jeremy Dooley.” The young boy even extended his hand, catching Gavin off guard with his manners. He certainly hadn’t met many other eleven-year-olds with such control over their actions.

“Gavin Free,” he replied after a moment, reaching out to shake the other’s hand firmly. He hadn’t quite noticed when his heartbeat started to calm down but the other boy’s presence made him feel much easier than he had when first stepping onto the train. In fact he was so occupied by introducing himself to the other that the train rolling to life actually took him by surprise. As he waved goodbye to his mother, a sad pang spread throughout his body and he felt his smile falter as King’s Cross fell into the distance.

It wasn’t long before Jeremy struck up further conversation, occupying Gavin’s mind and keeping him distracted from the worry that had begun to creep back into his mind. He found that they were both without siblings but Jeremy had been raised to know all about Hogwarts through the tales of his cousins and parents. He shared a few with Gavin, about how the staircases moved and there had once been an entire floor of the school closed off for a mysterious reason. It all seemed too fantastical to be true and yet the last few months had taught Gavin that it really was true, even the most inexplicable parts.

“Do you know what house you’ll be in?” Jeremy questioned, some half an hour into their journey as they gorged on cauldron cakes that he had brought from the trolley lady.

Gavin paused for a second, recalling everything he had learned about the houses from his short time talking to the other boy. The information was overwhelming all at once but there had been one thing that had stuck out to him in particular. “My mum always calls me brave,” he admitted, his cheeks flushing pink as he avoided the other’s eye, “So, uh, maybe Gryffindor?”

He risked a glance up and was surprised to see that Jeremy appeared deep in thought, nodding in a manner that was perhaps approving. “That sounds fair. My parents were both Gryffindor but they’ve always said I have the makings of a Slytherin. I guess we’ll see, huh?” Gavin hummed in agreement, not quite sure what else he could offer to the conversation. They fell back into a short silence, broken only by the sounds of Jeremy opening a packet of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans. Thankfully that led onto a whole new topic of conversation and before they knew it, they had arrived at their destination.

The first years were ushered off the platform by the groundskeeper and soon found themselves in boats to cross the lake and get their first sight of the school that would become their home for the next seven years. Gavin and Jeremy found themselves joined by a boy with curly hair and another with shaggy hair that fell down around his shoulders who introduced themselves as Michael and Matt in turn.

As Hogwarts Castle finally loomed up above them, Gavin felt his heart skip a beat in bewilderment. It was simply the most beautiful thing he had ever seen: a castle of unreachable highs and magnificent architecture, unlike anything he had quite soon before. “That’s quite something, yeah,” Michael huffed behind him, snapping Gavin out of his daze. “You never seen it in pictures before?”

“Never,” he confessed, too in awe of the display in front of him to care about embarrassing himself. When he finally tore his eyes away from the castle, he caught sight of Jeremy staring his way and found himself smiling back at him.

Before long they were being ushered out of the boats and into the entrance hall of the castle. Gavin’s body felt like it was on fire as he struggled to comprehend what he was being told. Even as his brain struggled to catch up they were moved along into the great hall and suddenly Gavin felt the pressure of hundreds of pairs of eyes on him. They weren’t just looking at him of course but it certainly felt that way, as if they knew he was different from the rest, an outsider who didn’t belong. Even then he feared that he’d get to the front of the hall and be told to go back again, that they’d made a mistake.

“Guess we’re about to find out whether my parents were right after all, huh,” Jeremy mumbled beside him, distracting Gavin enough to calm him as the Sorting Ceremony got underway. He’d been told not to worry about what house he was sorted into, that they all had their merits, and yet after their earlier discussion it suddenly seemed to carry some sort of unexpected weight. He found himself desperately hoping that they both found themselves in Gryffindor because at least he’d have a friend.

“Blanchard, Andrew!”

A small red-faced boy scuttled towards the front of the crowd they had gathered in and sat upon the old wooden stool placed in front of them. Gavin watched curiously as an old pointy hat was placed on the boy’s head. A few seconds later, a fold in the hat opened like a mouth and a voice boomed “HUFFLEPUFF!”

The table directly to Gavin’s left erupted in cheers at the announcement. Andrew hopped off the stool the moment the Sorting Hat had been lifted from his head and skipped to join the table. He was replaced on the stool by Matt Bragg, the same boy who had joined their boat earlier, who quickly followed him into Hufflepuff.

A pretty girl named Mica Burton became the first to be sorted into Slytherin, followed directly after by Trevor Collins and two more boys who were sorted into Hufflepuff, Caleb and Chris. The Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables seemed almost put-out by their quiet turnout so far and they weren’t the only ones. Gavin found himself growing more and more anxious as it approached his turn, fearing that his name would be skipped and he’d be utterly humiliated as he was forced away.

“Dooley, Jeremy!”

The sudden movement from his side snapped Gavin back to his thoughts quick enough for him to share a quick smile with the other boy. “Good luck,” he found himself whispering as Jeremy pushed through the crowd and sat upon the stool. There was no immediately declaration when the hat was placed upon his head and Gavin could see the confusion seeping into Jeremy’s face the longer he waited. Ten whole seconds passed before the hat’s mouth opened and declared in a loud voice: “SLYTHERIN!”

Gavin felt his heart sink despite himself. So Jeremy’s parents had been right after all and he was a Slytherin. Where would that leave them as friends? Gavin certainly didn’t feel cunning enough to join the ranks of the Slytherin, even as he watched them warmly embrace Jeremy as their newest member. He’d heard all the rumours about Slytherin’s production rate of evil wizards of course but in person they seemed like a friendly bunch, he just couldn’t picture himself among them. Hell, he wasn’t sure he could picture himself in any house. He was an anomaly, clearly.

Several more names passed after that - “Dunkelman, Barbara” became the first to be sorted into Ravenclaw and was greeted by hoots from the table on Gavin’s far right - before he heard the words he had been anticipating and dreading: “Free, Gavin!”

Gavin’s feet suddenly felt heavy as plodded away from the thinning group and sat on the stool. He became acutely aware of just how many people were looking at him them and his eyes instinctively made their way to the Slytherin table, meeting Jeremy’s gaze. The boy smiled and Gavin felt momentarily reassured before the hat was placed on his head. Then, all at once, it felt like there was another person poking around in his mind, whispering into his ear.

“ _Very interesting,_ ” the voice practically purred, apparently unheard by the rest of the hall. “ _Bravery, yes, and a certain amount of selfishness. A need to prove yourself to your peers, even. Aren’t you a bag of conflict, hmm?_ ” Gavin felt a shiver go down his spine, uncertainty creeping into every part of his mind. What would happen if the hat couldn’t decide where to place him? “ _So many questions, such curiosity… I know exactly where to place you!_ ”

And then, loud enough for the whole hall to hear: “RAVENCLAW!”

For a moment Gavin was too stunned to move. He stared at the table of blue-robed students all celebrating their newest member and yet it still didn’t feel real. It was only when he felt the hat being removed from his head that his body pushed itself into autopilot and he began to walk over. He almost tripped in the process and a chorus of giggles rang around the students sat at the front of the room, leaving Gavin blushing by the time he took his seat across from Barbara.

The blonde girl’s face lit up in a bright smile as she extended a hand across the table. “Welcome to the squad, Gavin Free. We’re going to have a lot of fun together,” she declared with utmost confidence as Gavin’s autopilot directed him to shake her hand. He decided not to question exactly what ‘squad’ he was going to be joining, instead opting to force a smile onto his face and try to decrease his rapid heartbeat.

It was only after a few more sortings - “Gibson, Blaine” became the first new Gryffindor while Ravenclaw found another new member in Cole Gallian - that his heartbeat finally steadied and he realized that Jeremy was staring at him from right across the other side of the room. Gavin felt his smile relax into something more genuine as he let out the breath he’d had no idea he was even holding. Maybe it hadn’t been what he had expected but he hadn’t been turned away by the school and that had to count for something, right?

By the time the Sorting Hat had worked its way through all the new first years, Gavin found himself feeling quite comfortable alongside Barbara, Cole and another short, fluffy-haired boy named Miles. They were enthusiastic and well versed in the magical world in a way he could only dream of being but after they’d filled their stomach with some of the most glorious food Gavin had ever tasted, he was sure that they were well on their way to becoming fast friends.

 

_\- RT -_

 

The Ravenclaw first years only shared one lesson with the Slytherins and that was Herbology, the one area of magic that made Gavin feel totally overwhelmed and unprepared. Spells and potions he’d been willing to accept but magical plants? It was totally bizarre and yet he was so curious that he was practically fascinated by every little thing they were introduced to. It didn’t help that he apparently did not have anything even approaching a green thumb, but he did his best where he could. It was the only class that he got to talk with Jeremy in, even if their discussions were always brief and more often than not interrupted by their other friends.

Jeremy seemed to fit right in with the other Slytherins - he joked with Trevor Collins and Lindsay Tuggey like they’d been friends for years, while he worked so diligently with Kdin Jenzen that they might as well have been professionals already. There was a part of Gavin that almost felt jealous, as if they were taking up precious time that he could be spending with the other boy. It was bad enough they got to hang out in the common room and had all of their classes with him!

It wasn’t as if Gavin was without his own friends though. Miles was similarly helpless at Herbology but both Barbara and Cole seemed to have a flair for it, meaning they often paired up and left the two boys to fend for themselves. It never exactly ended well for either of them, even if it meant Gavin got to enjoy Jeremy’s hysterical cackle every time he messed up. If he hadn’t already known the boy was so nice then he probably would have felt insecure about it. Thankfully the insecurities seemed to die down with every passing day Gavin spent at Hogwarts. He couldn’t be any more thankful for it.

 

_\- RT -_

 

“Gavin, hey!” The friendly voice that broke the fragile silence surrounding Gavin made him jolt firmly awake in a most unpleasant manner. He pushed himself upright at the table he’d been slumping across just in time to see Jeremy join him. “What are you doing in the library so late?” Gavin didn’t consider himself a particularly great judge of character but if he had any confidence then he might even say that Jeremy looked _concerned_ to find him there. It was nearing lights out time after all and he’d already been caught in the corridors after hours once before. It wasn’t an experience he wanted to repeat.

“History of Magic essay,” he mumbled in response, waving his hand across the parchment in front of him, upon which only a few short paragraphs had been written. “Emeric the Eager.”

A frown crossed Jeremy’s lips. “Emeric the _Evil_ or _Elfric_ the Eager?” he questioned. Gavin felt his heat drop in his chest. They were two separate people? Bloody hell, this was going terribly.

“Emeric. I think,” he confessed shyly, glancing down at his essay as if it was the biggest load of turd he’d ever seen. There were many exciting classes at Hogwarts, even the aforementioned Herbology, but Gavin had quickly learned over his first few months at the school that History of Magic was simply the most boring thing he’d ever studied, including his ordinary History classes back at junior school. Seriously, it was like drilling a hole into his skull every time he even thought about it.

Jeremy smiled sympathetically. “It’s miserable, right? I did the Emeric essay last week,” he sighed, “Want me to take a look over what you’ve got?” Gavin let out a short laugh before sliding his parchment across the table. It was hardly his finest piece of work but he’d never been particularly great at essay writing anyway and the dreadfully dull topic didn’t exactly help matters.

They sat in silence for a short while as Jeremy read over the messy scrawl on the parchment. The longer they remained silent, the more insecure Gavin felt, as if he was embarrassing himself. He was a Ravenclaw after all, wasn’t he supposed to be smart? “You should probably talk about the reason he was killed more,” Jeremy declared suddenly, sliding the parchment back across the table. “Egbert the Egregious, big fan of duelling. They fought over the Elder Wand.” When Gavin just stared blankly back at him, Jeremy’s smile widened. “Really fancy wand. Super powerful.”

“Got it,” Gavin agreed finally, feeling a grin spread across his own face. There was something infectious about Jeremy’s smiles that made him want to beam back, no matter how anxious he felt beforehand. “Thanks, J.”

Jeremy smiled at that, shrugging it off as if it was nothing. “No problem, buddy.” And then, to take Gavin by surprise again, he pulled several scrolls of parchment and a heavy textbook out of his bag to begin his own work. The two boys continued to work in silence until the librarian came around to kick them out almost an hour later.

As they parted ways, Jeremy heading towards the Slytherin common room in the dungeons while Gavin made his way to the Ravenclaw tower, they both found themselves smiling. “We should do this again sometime,” Gavin suggested before the other boy could get too far away. Jeremy paused on the staircase, turning around just in time for it to begin changing direction.

“I’d like that!” he called out, moments before the staircase twisted entirely and took him out of view.

Gavin smiled the whole way back on his sprint to the seventh floor.

 

_\- RT -_

 

In his mind, Gavin had a list of childish names and ‘insults’ that he didn’t really object to being called because he couldn’t really deny it. _Clumsy_ was one, _odd_ was another. He’d tripped up enough for the first claim to have actual support, after all, and odd had never seemed inherently mean. He would happily agree with being described as odd.

The one that he really hated being called though was _stupid_.

“How the hell are you a Ravenclaw? You’re so stupid!” Blaine Gibson had called across the Charms classroom one morning after Gavin had seemingly asked too many questions. Immediately his face had flushed red and he ducked down in his chair, too embarrassed to look at any of his classmates even while Blaine guffawed with his Gryffindor friends.

“Ignore him. He’s an idiot,” Barbara huffed some five minutes later when she noticed that Gavin hadn’t moved or said anything since them. He hummed in a noise that he hoped sounded agreeable but he didn’t quite believe it because maybe Blaine was right, maybe he really was too dumb to be a Ravenclaw.

After Charms class wrapped up and Blaine swaggered off, Gavin did his best to put on a brave face and pretend like it hadn’t affected him but it continued to pry in the back of his mind. Even that evening when all his friends were gathered in Ravenclaw Tower together, Blaine’s obnoxious voice continued to play in the back of his mind, reminding him that he really didn’t fit in with the rest of them. He wasn’t smart like Barbara or practical like Cole or even enthusiastic like Miles. He was a mess and they all knew it, they were just too polite to talk about it.

Eventually he excused himself from the group and fled to the library, hoping and praying that maybe if he just did some work and tried to lose himself in research then he wouldn’t believe the other boy’s words so much. He had to do something because clearly sitting around and pretending like everything was okay wasn’t working for him.

He was so distracted by his thoughts that he barely even registered where he was going on his path through the maze of bookcases in the vast library and as result walked smack-bang into an older boy. As if Gavin’s day wasn’t bad enough, he was now greeted by the stony expression of a Ravenclaw third year he’d only ever heard referred to as ‘Haywood’.

“Oh crap, are you okay?” the boy asked, the concern in his voice surprisingly genuine. Gavin blinked in confusion which also happened to be the exact moment he realized he was crying. _Oh_.

“What, me? I’m, uh, I’m good. Are _you_ okay?” he answered timidly, deciding to stare at the other’s jaw rather than look him in the eye. God, what was going on with him today? He had the worst luck in the world, clearly.

Gavin had expected a lot of things from his first full-on encounter with an older student especially while crying, such as being knocked to the floor or laughed at but he hadn’t expected the boy to be genuinely worried. “You’re crying,” he pointed out and Gavin quickly wiped at his eyes as if to deny it. “It’s Gavin, right?” he asked suddenly, catching the younger boy by surprise. After a moment of hesitation he nodded somewhat timidly. “I thought so. I’m Ryan,” he introduced himself, holding out a hand. Gavin stared at it curiously, waiting for some sort of trick before hesitantly reaching out and shaking it.

“Nice to meet you,” he mumbled, forcing himself to meet the other boy’s eyes and smile weakly.

“You want to tell me why you were crying?” Ryan asked calmly, the corners of his lips curving up into a sympathetic smile.

It was kind enough to make Gavin glance away and down at his feet instead. He felt so terribly embarrassed by everything about the situation. “I’m just being stupid,” he huffed after a moment, miserably accepting the truth that had been hurled across the classroom at him earlier that day.

“I don’t believe you’re stupid. No Ravenclaw is stupid,” Ryan said firmly. Gavin shifted uncomfortably on the spot and said nothing. “Wait, did somebody tell you that?” Again, he said nothing in response. What could he say without making himself sound like a whiny baby? He just needed to develop thicker skin, that was all.

“No-one, it’s nothing, I’m _fine_ ,” he sighed, doing his best to dodge around Ryan. Even at thirteen the boy had surprisingly broad shoulders but Gavin was skinny and small and it didn’t take long for him to escape past him.

“Gavin-- Gavin!” Ryan called out after him only to be met by silence as Gavin abandoned his plan to hang out in the library. Maybe an abandoned classroom would be a better place to feel sorry for himself.

 

_\- RT -_

 

Two days later Gavin was surprised by Blaine approaching him as they queued outside the Charms classroom. “I, uh, I’m sorry for calling you stupid,” the other boy declared suddenly, catching Gavin off guard. He’d expected another snide remark or god, even to be pushed over. An apology hadn’t been on his mind at all and he had no idea how to react.

“That’s, uh-- that’s okay,” he gasped after a moment, exchanging an awkward smile with the other boy before he skulked back to his friends. Gavin glanced at his own friends in confusion and while his expression was reflected back at him by Barbara and Miles, Cole seemed strangely unsurprised. “What did you do?” Gavin asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion at the other boy.

“Me? I didn’t do anything,” Cole scoffed. “It was that third year, Haywood. He came and found me the other night, asked me what had made you cry. I put two and two together and told him. Guess he had a word with Blaine or something.”

For a moment Gavin just stared at his friend, not quite believing what he was hearing. Had Ryan really done that, just for him? It didn’t seem right that anybody could be that nice, especially not a third year! Before he knew it a grin had spread across his face.

“There’s the Gav we know and love,” Barbara sighed in relief, prodding him in the back as they began to file into the classroom. “Keep that smile on or you can bet I’ll be scarier than Haywood ever is!” There were a few non-committal grunts from Cole and Miles but Gavin didn’t mind. He was too busy thinking of how he could thank Ryan the next time they ran into each other (and hopefully this time it wouldn’t be too literally).

Much to Gavin’s delight, nobody called him stupid again for at least the rest of the year. In fact Blaine wouldn’t even meet his eye for a good few weeks afterwards. Somehow he was okay with that.

 

_\- RT -_

 

“Hey Gavin, come look at this!”

Even though he was doing his best to cram for a Defence Against the Dark Arts test that was due any day, the familiar voice was enough to pull Gavin out from the book he was hunched over. He’d arrived at breakfast in the great hall early and had remained there for over an hour, barely even noticing as his friends sat and ate around him until Jeremy’s voice called out to him from the Slytherin table. Glancing up, he saw his friend grinning in his direction as he waved him over and as always curiosity got the better of him and he was getting up from the bench and wandering over. He didn’t make it a habit to hang out with Jeremy in the great hall because the older Slytherins scared him even more than the older Ravenclaws did but he knew he’d never be able to say no to a friend. He wasn’t that kind of person.

“What am I looking at?” Gavin hummed, glancing over his friend’s shoulder to inspect whatever had Jeremy and his friends so fascinated. In front of him was a small pumpkin, no larger than six inches wide. It seemed rather unremarkable in all honesty.

“Get a load of this,” Jeremy muttered before gently poking the pumpkin with his wand.

Much to Gavin’s surprise, the carved mouth of the pumpkin opened wide and spewed forth a small amount of pumpkin guts onto the table. Immediately a chorus of giggles broke out from the Slytherin first-years and Gavin found himself gasping in amazement, eyes darting up to meet Jeremy’s. “What-- How did you get it to do that?” he asked, lips parting into a grin of amazement.

“It’s a trick my dad taught me,” the other boy confessed. “We decorate the house for Hallowe’en every year. We have these floating all around the house. Some change colour, others do this… It’s pretty cool.”

“It sounds it,” Gavin gasped without hesitation. He was frankly amazed by the seasonal decorations that had appeared around the castle and he could only imagine how wizarding families decorated their own homes for Hallowe’en and Christmas. The moment he was old enough to do magic outside of school he was going to make sure his parents had a talking pumpkin on their porch to scare off any unwanted trick-or-treaters.

Feeling a tugging on the sleeve of his robe, Gavin frowned and turned his head to look at the culprit. “Come on, we’ve gotta go ace this test,” Barbara said with utmost confidence. She flashed Jeremy a guilty smile before pulling him away. All Gavin could do was wave and pretend like he wasn’t too disappointed that his conversation with Jeremy had been cut short.

 

_\- RT -_

 

After a long fifty-question DADA test and one of the toughest Herbology lessons yet, the last thing Gavin expected as he curled up on a chair in Ravenclaw Tower was for Ryan to pull up a chair next to him. “How did you do on the test?” the older boy asked, a kind smile on his face. “You looked pretty stressed at breakfast this morning.”

Blinking away the surprise and trying to shake himself awake, Gavin mumbled a few incoherent noises before he found his voice. “Uh, okay I think? I may have mixed a few incantations up but I’m pretty sure I passed,” he confessed, smiling weakly. There was no way he did as well as Barbara and even Miles had seemed strangely confident once the test was over but overall it hadn’t been as bad as he’d been expecting.

“That’s great,” Ryan said enthusiastically, his smile spreading further. “No big Hallowe’en plans? Everybody’s down at the feast, you know.” Gavin glanced around the room and sure enough they were mostly alone with only a few fourth and seventh years for company. He’d barely noticed before Ryan had brought it up though, he’d been practically passing out by the time he dropped into the chair some half an hour earlier. In fact he’d all but forgotten what day it was.

“Nah, nothing more exciting than an early night,” he confessed, grinning at the other boy as he sat up straighter in his chair. “How come you’re not down there?”

For a brief moment Gavin could have sworn that a pained expression flashed across Ryan’s face but it was gone in an instant, if it was even there at all. He was pretty damn tired, it wouldn’t be totally impossible that he was hallucinating things. “Tired,” Ryan confessed after a moment, shrugging his shoulders and jumping up out of the seat. “Which, speaking of, I’m going to go deal with. Maybe you should hit the sack too,” he suggested kindly, placing his chair back to the spot he’d pulled it from.

Gavin hummed in agreement and contended himself to closing his eyes and passing out in the chair until Cole and Miles returned and could drag him up to their dorm before he remembered something. Eyes snapping open, he jumped up to his feet and the sudden movement caught Ryan’s attention. “I, uh, wanted to say thank you for talking to Blaine,” he stammered, a faint blush crossing his cheeks. “You didn’t have to and, uh, he apologised so… yeah, thanks.”

The warm smile returned to Ryan’s face at that and Gavin could feel his own face mirroring the expression. “Don’t mention it,” he replied but the younger boy could swear that the thank you meant far more to Ryan than he let on. There seemed to be a lot going on in that mind of his and he was full of mysteries and surprises that Gavin wasn’t sure anybody would ever completely unravel. Still, the boy had gone out of his way to help him and he couldn’t deny that he was thankful for it, even if it meant losing his cool and acting like an idiot in front of an older student.

By the time Miles and Cole made it back to their dorm several hours later Gavin was already splayed out on his bed, covers thrown aside and his snores echoed loudly around the room. Both boys emptied their pockets of candy they had pinched from the feast in the great hall and dropped them on Gavin’s bedside table. After a quick fist bump, the boys all but dropped down onto their beds, thoroughly exhausted from the evening’s celebration.

 

_\- RT -_

 

“What do you think you'll want to do with your life?” Barbara asked over breakfast one cold winter morning, as if that wasn't going to be the most loaded question Gavin heard all day. He'd already been worrying about how cold the walk to the Herbology greenhouses was going to be and whether his hands would turn to ice and fall off altogether, he didn't need to add any more undue stress to his morning. To make things worse, she was looking directly at him, not Miles, not Cole, him. “I mean, are you going to go back and do Muggle things? Or do you think you'll do something with your magic?” There was nothing accusatory about her tone but it still made him uncomfortable, particularly because it caused the rest of their little friendship group to turn their attention to him too.

“Barbara, we're eleven,” he reminded her. “I don't need to think about that stuff yet.” At least, Gavin really didn't want to.

“I think I'd like to work in a wand shop,” Cole piped up.

“Animals,” Miles interjected.

Barbara continued to stare at Gavin for a few more moments before she finally shrugged and smiled. “That's fine. You're right. Plenty of time,” she acknowledged. Gavin couldn't quite shake the feeling that she didn't believe her own words.

 

_\- RT -_

 

“You don’t write as much anymore,” Gavin’s father pointed out on Christmas Eve as the family sat down for their annual viewing of _The Holiday_. Rather than staying at Hogwarts for Christmas as he’d been tempted to at first, Gavin had happily given into the homesickness that had ached him for weeks and confirmed with his parents that he’d be home for the holiday season. It meant weeks without Barbara or Miles or Cole or _Jeremy_ but considering he spent most of his waking hours with the former three it also came as something of a blessing.

What his father said wasn’t totally untrue either. Since Halloween his letters had fallen from weekly to fortnightly and he felt guilty for that considering his promise to his mother on Platform 9¾ just a few months before. Those months had seemed to pass by in both a flash and take forever at exactly the same time, if that was even possible. He was already itching to get back to the castle and see his friends again and yet the endless essays and homework he’d been assigned had not only eaten up the free time he usually spent writing to his parents but had also made him crave a break from it all.

What took a surprising amount of time getting used to was not being constantly surrounded by magic or being able to use it outside of school himself.  He hadn’t even realized just how much he’d started to take it for granted until he was suddenly restricted from using it at all. Now his fingers ached for his wand and whenever he found himself trapped in the dark he had to silence himself from casting a quick “ _Lumos!_ ” just for ease’s sake, even though he knew there was no way he could cast wandless magic.

“Sorry,” Gavin mumbled, smiling apologetically at his parents. “Would you believe me if I said I was busy with homework?”

His father raised his eyebrows but his mother just smiled, as kind as ever. “Of course. A bright boy like you? I can see why you’re so busy,” she assured him, “If it was me… good lord, I’d want to know everything.”

Gavin felt a small inkling of pink flush into his cheeks. “I do,” he confessed. “I want to know everything about Hogwarts, about magic, about… I need the answers.” His mother reached over and ran a hand through his shaggy brown hair, causing him to laugh and blush harder.

“I know you do, baby,” she sighed, her eyes finally drifting towards the screen. “I know you do.”

 

_\- RT -_

 

The spring term brought about a whole new host of challenges for Gavin and his friends. The workloads increased causing their stress levels to rise and they all began to wonder how terrible things were going to be in their third year or god forbid, their fifth or seventh. While they were all definitely pleased to be learning more than just the basics that they’d mostly mastered in the winter term, it didn’t necessarily mean they were all prepared for what the teachers were currently educating them on. Thankfully Gavin wasn’t alone in this respect as Miles seemed just as lost as he did, Cole was struggling to regain his momentum after a Christmas break of playing games and even Barbara seemed a little more overwhelmed.

Thankfully Gavin had at least one person he could turn to when he needed help with his work - or other things that had been prying on his mind for almost a month.

“Do you know what you want to do with the rest of your life?” Gavin asked, Barbara's question still prickling at the back of his mind even a month later. He kept telling himself that it didn't matter that he had no ideas because he was only eleven and it was totally natural that he didn't have everything sorted out so far. Unfortunately he had something of an obsessive personality so now that the question had been posed to him, he simply couldn't let it go.

Ryan stared up at him from across the library desk, eyebrows raised and lips drawn into a confused frown. “That's a bit of a loaded question,” he pointed out. Gavin chuckled softly in return, glancing down uncertainly at the parchment he'd been writing his Potions essay on. “What brought this on?”

“Just something Barbara said,” Gavin mumbled, doing his best to finish the sentence he was currently despite the fact he firmly believed it made absolutely no sense. Oh well, at least his professor was usually somewhat forgiving as long as the mistakes were on paper and not in a cauldron. So far Gavin had miraculously managed not to destroy any cauldrons, although he had stunk out the dungeons with a potion turned foul just a few weeks into September. He’d been threatened with a detention for that and had made sure to be a lot more careful with what ingredients he was putting in after that.

Finally glancing up from the parchment, the first-year was surprised to find Ryan still staring at him. He shifted uncomfortably under the other's gaze, even when the other's frown softened into a smile. “I suppose not,” he confessed after a moment, shrugging his shoulders. “I never felt in a rush to sort that out now.”

“Not even with your third year options?” Gavin queried. The thought of choosing new classes to take on both excited and terrified him because what if he picked the wrong ones? He'd be screwed!

“Nah,” the other laughed, his smile growing wider. “There's always time to sort things out, right?” There was an easy confidence to Ryan that, even though he was only two years older than Gavin, made him feel like an adult in the younger boy's eyes. He'd never expected for somebody like Ryan to stick up for him or even start the beginning of a -- whatever the hell this is. A friendship, he supposed. He'd turned up to the library with his stack of parchments and his potions textbook only to be met by a smiling Ryan who invited him to sit at his table. Gavin hadn't even thought about refusing.

As Ryan began scrawling out another sentence on his Ancient Runes essay, Gavin continued to watch him for a few seconds longer before the sound of a chair being pulled back next to him forced his attention. Glancing to his side, the Ravenclaw found his heart beat a little faster when it caught sight of the green hem on the other's robe and realized it was none other than Jeremy. “You don't mind if I join you, do you?” the other boy asked, his eyes darting between the two Ravenclaws.

“Of course not,” Gavin replied immediately without even thinking to consult Ryan. It had been his table first, after all.

“Not at all,” the older boy agreed after a moment, his face relaxing into that easy smile that made him seem so approachable to Gavin. He'd heard stories about how moody Haywood was so it was certainly strange matching it up to the boy he knew. It didn't really make much sense at all.

Seemingly put at ease, Jeremy opened his bag and pulled out a roll of parchment followed by his own Potions book. Gavin's eyes immediately lit up. “Hey, are you doing Oobleck's essay on love potions?” he asked quickly, his mouth running at a thousand miles an hour. Ryan's eyebrow pricked up but Jeremy seemed unfazed, likely used to it after all the time they'd spent working quietly together. Gavin had always struggled with quiet so they usually ended up whispering quick conversations to each other so as to avoid the ire of the Hogwarts librarian who could be fearsome when she wanted to be.

“Yeah, you understand this?” Jeremy asked, smiling sheepishly at the other. “Potions, not really my fort.”

“Forté,” Ryan corrected, causing the young Slytherin to glance his way. Ryan had lost his usual smile and was instead fixing the other with a somewhat dubious expression. It was a little strange seeing Ryan interact with somebody else because Gavin had always made a point of avoiding him when he was around his other friends. He hated to feel like he was imposing on the other.

Jeremy stared back at the older boy, his eyes a little wider. His lips thinned into a line as he nodded, a little too sharply for Gavin not to notice it as rather odd behaviour. “Forté,” he repeated, staring the other straight in the eye before turning back to Gavin. “I suck, basically.”

Gavin frowned, both because he didn't believe Jeremy could suck at anything and because he was sensing a somewhat frosty atmosphere settling over the small group. “That can't be true,” he sighed, glancing down at his own essay. “At least no worse than I do.” He pushed the sheet of parchment across the table for the other boy to see. Ryan watched them both with interest, eyes slightly narrowed.

“Help each other?” Jeremy suggested, the thin line of his lips finally spreading back out into a warm smile that Gavin couldn't help but match.

“Best plan I've ever heard.”

Any work was immensely easier with a friend's help and Gavin found that Jeremy's help in particular seemed to do the trick. Barbara and Cole were all well and good (Miles was a bit of a wildcard at the best of times) but he didn't click with them as well as he did with the Slytherin boy so of course he felt optimistic at the chance to work with him on something they were both struggling with. Besides even if it was a challenge at least Potions wasn't nearly as bad as History of Magic. The boys quickly ended up so captivated by their work that Gavin didn't even register Ryan's excuses to leave until the third year boy had vanished from their table altogether.

He chose not to think too much into it.

 

_\- RT -_

 

Flying lessons were something of a continued challenge for Gavin. They had been under Madame Hooch's tutelage once a week throughout October and November but after a two month break from the class, Gavin felt quite uncertain of himself by the time their first February lesson rolled around. His past experiences hadn't exactly filled him with much hope for improvement as the broom seemed unresponsive to his wishes and more than once he'd found himself unceremoniously thrown to the ground. Much to his ire, the majority of the other Ravenclaws in his year had taken to flying rather quickly and easily. Miles flew with what could only be described as reckless abandon and yet not once had he fallen from his broom. Gavin couldn't help but feel slightly jealous. Everybody else seemed to have found areas they excelled in and he... well, he was still struggling to fly the full distance of the Quidditch pitch without ending up crashing down into the muddy grass.

With all of the first years gathered together in the 'Flying Courtyard' as it had been affectionately referred to by both staff and students, Gavin couldn't help but feel on edge as if all eyes were on him. Surely enough every time he and his broom had a disagreement there was a quiet chorus of giggling passing around. Not even his own house was immune. Gavin scowled in Barbara's direction after he caught her laughing with a bunch of Gryffindor girls after his latest fall.  _No doubt pointed me out because she knows I suck_ , he thought miserably. Apparently there was no honour among friends, so to speak.

“Most of us have spent half of our childhoods on brooms,” Jeremy pointed out as he dropped behind to match Gavin's slow pace towards the broom closet. The rest of the year group were moving as a pack some thirty paces ahead of him but after his broom had led him to collide with the castle wall, Gavin had been left with a sore right arm and another heavy weight of embarrassment pressing down on him.

He could only grunt in response to Jeremy's claim. He supposed it made sense. The kids from wizarding families were probably going to be more ahead in their studies from him because they'd been exposed to every element of magic for their whole life. There was no law about not flying before you turned eleven so no wonder so many of them acted like pros and were already talking about trying out for their respective Quidditch teams in their second year.

“You'll pick it up eventually,” Jeremy added, his voice sounding a lot more confident than Gavin felt. “Took me ages to even get any higher than a foot off the ground.” 

Gavin wasn't listening. He couldn't help but glare at Blaine Gibson's back, jealous that once again he'd been shown up as a fool while his classmates succeeded all around him. Weren't Ravenclaws supposed to be  _good_  at things? Gavin was yet to find anything he excelled at and even though it wasn't said, he could tell from the way his classmates looked at him that they'd noticed it too. Their expressions ranged from pity to glee and none of them made him feel any better. Not even Jeremy's reassurance could do that.

“Yeah. Sure,” he grunted, not even glancing in Jeremy's direction. He'd expected more argument from the other but it never came. Gavin was only met by silence and took a strange level of comfort from it.

He skipped dinner that night and pretended to be asleep by the time his friends arrived back at the dorm.

 

_\- RT -_

 

By April Gavin had managed to learn basic broom control. He wasn’t being thrown to the ground anymore nor was he spinning uncontrollably in the air. In time his classmates stopped watching him so closely, waiting for him to fail and amuse them. On the whole he was allowed to get on in peace and the only other person who seemed to pay any attention to him was Jeremy who flashed supportive smiles his way whenever their eyes locked. It meant a lot more to Gavin than he actually let on.

Unfortunately there was little time to dwell on that minor victory because their first year exams were looming and Gavin felt wholly unprepared. He’d never performed well under exam conditions and considering his control over magi was tenuous at best, he wasn’t overly confident about his chances. What if he messed up and got kicked out for good? The whole last year would be for nothing and he’d never be allowed back in the magical world again!

That, if anything, was enough drive to get him revising. It was infuriatingly dull but with the help of his friends he made some progress. Barbara hated learning from books (which was why she despised History of Magic so much) and Gavin found working through the charms and transfiguration spells with her practically helped much more than constantly revising the correct hand gestures and spell origins from the textbooks.

Cole and Miles on the other hand were furiously reading anything they could get their hands on. They would shush Gavin and Barbara when they got too loud or made things explode by accident. After that first occasion they’d been banished from Ravenclaw tower and told to practice in an empty classroom. Gavin claimed responsibility for that one.

One wet night, long after his friends had gone to bed, Gavin remained curled up on one of the armchairs, repeatedly muttering the same incantation with his want pointed directly at an apple. He was so focused on making sure to get the spell precisely right that he hadn’t even noticed that he wasn’t alone in the common room any longer.

“Gavin?” a sleepy voice asked. The apple dropped from where it had been hovering several inches in the air as the first year craned his neck to see who was calling him.

Ryan stood at the bottom of the stairwell, dark circles around his eyes as he stared curiously back at him. “Sorry, was I too loud?” Gavin asked, ready and willing to take the blame even though he was sure he’d been quiet.

“No, just couldn’t sleep,” the older boy mumbled in return, padding forward carefully to avoid the discarded books scattered around the floor. Ravenclaws weren’t always as organized as people liked to believe, after all. “What are you working on?”

“ _Wingardium Leviosa_ ,” Gavin declared, both as an explanation and enchantment. The apple slowly began to rise into the air. “It never holds steady and then it just--” Before Gavin could even get the words out, the apple dropped to the ground.

Ryan stood quietly beside him for a moment and Gavin did his best not to presume that the other was judging him for his incompetence in such a basic spell. They’d learned it before Halloween after all and Gavin _still_ hadn’t mastered it. What did that say about him as a wizard?

“Stand up,” Ryan said suddenly, sounding much more alert than he had before. “Come on, up!” Gavin hastened to do as he was told, unfurling from his place on the armchair and getting up onto unsteady feet. “Back straight.” Again, he was quick to follow the order as Ryan scooped up the apple from the floor and held it in his open palm. Gavin glanced curiously at the older boy, wondering exactly what the purpose of this all was. “Go again.”

So he did. The apple rose slowly, shaking slightly, and reached a new personal best before dropping back into Ryan’s hand. Gavin had been so caught up in focusing on holding the apple with his magic that he hadn’t even noticed the intense look the third year was giving him. “You need to be more delicate with your wrist on the flick,” he explained after a moment, “You’re being too forceful. Too rigid. Just let the magic flow through you, as cliché as that sounds. Your body’s a conductor, not a weapon.”

Gavin just frowned. He supposed that made sense, yeah. Focusing on the apple again, Gavin left his wrist a little looser as he completed the swish-and-flick movement and whispered the spell. Sure enough the apple rose with more grace this time, steady and smooth in a way that he’d never been able to achieve before. It rose and it rose and it _rose_.

“That’s it, you’ve got it!” Ryan affirmed, his voice light and full of joy. Gavin laughed, not quite believing it. With just a simple change in his own body language he’d been able to achieve something that had stumped him for months!

“You’re a good teacher,” he told the other boy, beginning to float the apple around the room with more precision than he’d ever managed before.

Ryan just shrugged. “You had it in you all along,” he pointed out. Gavin’s cheeks flushed with colour as he grinned.

The boys remained awake for another half an hour with Ryan creating rings of light for Gavin to navigate his apple through until they were both too tired to keep going. For once Gavin felt a sense of achievement as he headed up the staircase to the first floor landing. He paused for a moment to smile at the other. “Thanks Ryan,” he mumbled, feeling a little embarrassed.

The older boy just smiled back at him. “It was my pleasure, Gavin.”

Gavin slept a lot more peacefully that night than he had for weeks.

 

_\- RT -_

 

“I’m pretty sure I just failed Transfiguration,” Jeremy declared as he threw himself down on the bench next to Gavin. Cole raised a curious eyebrow but none of them made any comments. While there were certain Slytherin students they didn’t always see eye to eye with, Gavin’s friends had at least always made an effort to be nice to Jeremy for him. He had no idea how they actually _felt_ about his friend because that wasn’t exactly an easy topic to bring up but he was glad that there was no awkwardness between them.

“How so?” Miles questioned, getting the words out before Gavin even could. That wasn’t all too surprising considering Miles’ mouth always seemed to work quicker than anything else in the vicinity - especially his brain. It had already gotten him into trouble a number of times and while detentions weren’t exactly common in their house, he’d still managed to have more than the rest of them combined.

“My goblet was still green. Pretty sure it was still made of pear,” Jeremy responded, voice laden with heavy sorrow. Their task for the practical Transfiguration exam had been to transfigure a pear into a goblet and Gavin had been surprised at his own success. The goblet he created was bronze with small emerald jewels around the edge. Sure, it was a little on the small side but considering his usual performance in lessons he was rather proud of it.

Rather than respond, Gavin simply reached around to pat his friend on the back. Miles hummed in what he could only guess was a quiet display of sympathy. Barbara, however, seemed to have other issues on her mind. “I’m worried about Astronomy tonight, guys,” she huffed, slamming her textbook down on the table. It had only been open all of five minutes and already she was done with it which had to be some kind of new record. She usually complained about how boring it was before giving up entirely.

The Astronomy exam was taking place at eight o’clock at night when the sun had disappeared behind the lake and the stars were shining bright above them. While it was causing Barbara a considerable amount of grief considering it was one of the few subjects she struggled in, Gavin felt uncharacteristically confident. Considering the subject’s roots were not as firmly placed in magic as the rest of the curriculum was, he had been able to understand Astronomy a lot quicker and easier than he had with his other studies. Besides that, he’d been something of a star-enthusiast as a child and the solar system had been one of the few areas in Science that he’d actually enjoyed studying. Astronomy was just a branch of that and one that Gavin was happy to say he was the best of his friends at. He didn’t gloat about it but there was definitely a strange satisfaction bubbling inside of him whenever Barbara or Cole asked for his help with their homework.

“Name the five dwarf planets,” Gavin quizzed, staring directly across at Barbara as he took a bite out of his steak pie.

The blonde girl hesitated for a moment before sitting a little straighter and forcing a more confident look onto her face. “Ceres, Pluto, Eres,” she recited with ease before stumbling to a halt. She glanced nervously at the boys either side of her.

“Haumea,” Cole provided. They both turned to look at Miles, who shrugged. All three pairs of eyes then turned to Jeremy.

“Makemake,” he answered, a proud smile on his face. “A.K.A the best and dumbest name ever.” They all mumbled noises of agreement.

“Hey, did you guys ever notice that best is _in_ dumbest?” Miles exclaimed through a mouthful of food. Gavin willed his stomach to stop turning and simply rolled his eyes in response. None of the others answered him either.

Clearing her throat, Barbara fixed her eyes back on Gavin. “Another,” she commanded. “This helps.”

Gavin paused to think for a second before swallowing his mouthful of pie and asking, “How many moons does Saturn have?”

“Sixty-seven,” Miles cut in.

Gavin shook his head. “That’s Jupiter.”

“Sixty-two,” Barbara corrected with more determination.

“How many are named?”

“Fifty-three,” she fired back after only a slight pause.

“And the largest?”

“Titan,” Cole interrupted. Barbara nodded in agreement.

It felt strange for Gavin to be on the questioning side of a quiz but he was enjoying it. Too often he was the one begging for his friends to test him and make sure he was understanding things properly.

“Okay, do one for me,” Jeremy requested. Gavin turned in his seat to face the other boy better and thought for a moment. He and Jeremy didn’t share an Astronomy class so he didn’t know the other’s strengths and weaknesses as well as he knew Barbara or Cole’s. He’d have to take a stab in the dark and hope it was helpful.

“The third discovered asteroid?” Jeremy’s face looked blank. A quick investigation showed that his friends were displaying similar looks. _Okay, too difficult then_. “Juno,” he answered sagely, “Okay, how many constellations are there?”

“Eighty-eight,” Jeremy countered within a heartbeat. Gavin found himself grinning back at his friend. “Was that right? Awesome!”

Beside them, Miles let out a long sigh. Barbara raised a questioning eyebrow as she turned to look at him. “We don’t have to remember the names of all eighty-eight, do we?” he huffed, worry lining his face. Barbara tensed up for a moment, seized with fear for her immediate exam future.

“No, Miles. No we don’t,” Gavin assured them both. Sighs of relief rippled around their friendship group as they all let themselves relax - all bar Gavin whose lips had drawn into a mischievous smirk. “We have to know _thirty_.”

Gavin supposed he was to blame for Miles spitting out his pie all over his robes at that. Oh well, at least it would be a good story for the future.

 

_\- RT -_

 

Following their exams, the end of the school year came much faster than Gavin would have liked. With summer just around the corner, most of his time was spent by the lake with his friends or on the edge of the forest, trading stories of what creatures must hide within. Defence Against the Dark Arts had piqued their interests concerning magical beasts and it almost seemed unfair that they wouldn’t be able to study them in more detail until their third year.

Every now and then they would combine forces of sort with Jeremy and his friends which was easier than Gavin had anticipated at first. Trevor and Lindsay were pleasant enough but Mica seemed utterly baffled by him at first (“You mean you’ve never seen a professional team play Quidditch before?” she asked in horror one morning, spawning a long conversation about pro teams that Gavin had given up trying to follow barely a few minutes in) and Kdin was mostly silent as she sketched the view onto a piece of parchment. Only Miles seemed somewhat apprehensive of their new Slytherin friends but he made sure not to express those opinions until they were back in the safety of Ravenclaw Tower.

Even with the exams over, Gavin found himself stuck in his late-night sleeping pattern but that wasn’t so bad when most of those nights were spent playing either Wizards Chess or Exploding Snap with Ryan, depending on how loud they could get away with being. Every now and then they’d garner an audience including some of Ryan’s third year friends like the bespectacled Meg Turney or the rule-abiding Gus Sorola who scowled at Ryan every time he found a loophole to jump through. Gavin still felt a little intimidated by them but Ryan’s presence always made things a little easier. It was like his superpower or something.

Much to their relief, all of them passed their first year exams. Gavin was delighted to find he’d achieved an Outstanding in Astronomy (Barbara, meanwhile, was relieved to even get an Acceptable) and his Exceeds Expectations in both Charms and Potions had been pleasant surprises too. He supposed he had Ryan and Jeremy to thank respectively for helping with those.

By the time they sat down for the end of year feast, Gavin felt his heart aching. While his first year hadn’t exactly been a walk in the park, it felt far too soon for it to be over and the thought of not seeing any of his friends for almost a month made him want to curl into a ball. He wasn’t sure when he’d gotten quite so attached to his new companions but going back to the Muggle world without them even just for the summer felt like far too much to handle. That was why, when Miles invited him to come over at some point in the summer, Gavin sat bolt upright and felt his heartbeat race.

“Seriously?” he asked, doing his best to keep his voice steady. He’d figured that the most he’d get from his friends would be an Owl or two catching them up on whatever magical adventures they were having before maybe catching up at Diagon Alley when they all went to purchase their second year books (and probably new robes considering Gavin’s were already looking a little small on him, thanks puberty).

“Of course!” Miles answered without any sign of hesitation, “I asked my parents about it last week. They love having visitors and obviously they want to meet you.”

That was enough to make Gavin’s jaw drop. “They… want to meet me?”

Miles shot Gavin an exasperated look. “Well duh! Why wouldn’t they? I’ve been telling them about you - all of you - since like day one!” he explained, shrugging as if it was really no big deal. As if he couldn’t see the tears pricking at Gavin’s eyes. “I’ll send you an Owl to organize it, yeah?”

Gavin just nodded, lips forming shapes but failing to create any words. He wasn’t sure he could express just how grateful he was without bursting into tears and that wouldn’t be good for anybody. Instead he let Cole navigate the conversation elsewhere and for once welcomed Barbara’s questions on their early predictions about what elective subjects they might want to pick in their third year. Suddenly thinking about the future didn’t seem so bad after all.

 

_\- RT -_

 

“Hey Gav, you got a moment?” Jeremy asked timidly, his head poking into the train compartment that the Ravenclaw first years were currently sat in. Gavin nodded instantly, not even sparing the rest of his friends a glance as he shot up out of his seat and followed the other boy into the corridor.

The moment the compartment door had rolled shut behind them, Jeremy laughed nervously which only made Gavin feel strangely tense. “I just, uh, wanted to say have a good summer,” the Slytherin confessed, his cheeks flushing pink. Gavin let out the breath he’d been holding and relaxed into a wide smile. “And thanks for being a good friend, you know?”

Instead of replying, Gavin grabbed the other boy and pulled him into a tight hug. In a way it felt like _he_ should be the one thanking the other for being his friend. He’d been kind enough to allow Gavin into his compartment on their first journey on the Hogwarts Express, after all. “Have a good summer, Jeremy,” he mumbled as he pulled back, a grin pulling at his lips. “And I’ll see you in September, yeah?”

“Can’t wait.” Jeremy was beaming back at him and Gavin couldn’t help but let a small giggle escape. It felt crazy to think that he’d made friends as good as Jeremy and those in the compartment behind him considering how much of an outsider he’d been in the Muggle world. _I guess this explains why_ , he mused.

“Me neither,” he agreed.

For the first time in Gavin’s life he wanted the summer to be over before it had even really begun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My best friend advised me to finish all seven chapters of this before I started posting it but _I can't stop myself_ and I already have three done so here we go. Updates shall be posted monthly starting from now!
> 
> Feel free to follow me on tumblr at [ramcour](http://ramcour.tumblr.com).


	2. Second Year, Part One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find a complete listing for the Hogwarts houses [here](http://ramcour.tumblr.com/hogwartsau) to help you!

Diagon Alley was one of Gavin's favourite places in the magical world. It had been his first real introduction to the magical world, well before Platform Nine-and-three-quarters or Hogwarts itself. It was the one part he was allowed to share with his parents too and seeing the disbelief in their eyes as magic swirled around them. They'd opened an account in Gringotts for him, his father fascinated by the conversion rates from pounds and pennies to galleons, sickles and knuts before proceeding to pick up the new books he'd need for his second year. For weeks Gavin's anticipation for returning to school had been building and a short stay with Miles simply hadn't been enough to satisfy his need to be reimbursed in the magical world.

Stepping out of Madame Malkin's with a new pair of Ravenclaw robes to accustom for the growth spurt that had hit over the summer, Gavin felt refreshed in the late summer air. September was a week away which meant the winding alley street was populated by Hogwarts students and their parents, all with the same goals in mind as Gavin. It was a miracle Flourish & Blotts hadn't sold out of the books they need. Gavin was already itching to get started on reading them which was something he'd never thought he'd say about a textbook. He was eager to get ahead in his studies and prove to his classmates that this year wasn't going to be the one trailing behind the rest. He wasn't going to give Blaine Gibson another reason to look so smugly in his direction, nor was he going to judge himself negatively in comparison to his friends. This was going to be the year he turned things around, he was sure of it.

The biggest surprise of their shopping trip had been when his parents redirected him towards the pets shop he'd only glanced into from the outside before. He'd been using the school owls to send messages home to his parents throughout the last year and not having his own owl meant that he'd had to rely on his friends sending him a message via owl first. He'd lamented this to his parents but he'd never thought they would take immediate action and yet he walked out with a large tawny owl in its cage. “What do you want to call it?” he mother asked, pulling his father away from where he was curiously watching a family of Pygmy Puffs in the window display.

Gavin thought about it for a second. This owl was probably going to be with him for more than just his school years so he couldn't name it anything on a whim. It had to  _mean_  something. After a moment, a name came to the forefront of his mind and it felt like it made sense. “Gruchy,” he decided, thinking of his childhood friend, Dan. He'd been one of the only people Gavin felt guilty about leaving behind when he first left for Hogwarts.

Later, as he was sat in the Leaky Cauldron with his parents and a glass of butterbeer in front of him, Gavin couldn't help but glance around in the hopes of seeing any of his friends. He spied Trevor Collins from Slytherin a few tables away and although they shared brief smiles, Gavin knew better than to approach. Aside from their few meetings through Jeremy, they had no real relationship between them and it seemed uncomfortable to try and start one in the presence of their families. Gavin didn't have nearly enough confidence for that. Hufflepuff's Caleb Denecour and Stan Lewis passed through the pub shortly after that but Gavin's smile never quite met his eyes. He couldn't help but want the next person to appear to be one of his friends, particularly Jeremy. They'd exchanged a few owls over the summer but it still felt like too much distance for Gavin's liking when he was so used to the other's physical presence.

Just as his parents were finishing their drinks and getting ready to leave, Gavin sat up a little straighter in his seat. A familiar face had entered the pub with his parents and Gavin couldn't hide the grin from his face as their eyes locked. The summer had been kind to Ryan Haywood, making his shoulders broader and legs longer. He somehow managed to look older than his fourteen years and yet still more youthful than strangers presumed him to be. Gavin didn't see the same reclusive 'Haywood' that his classmates saw, he saw --

“Is that a friend?” Gavin's mother asked, her voice fond as she leaned closer into his side. She took his faint blush as an affirmative answer. “Go on, go talk to him.” Ryan's parents had moved straight towards the bar, leaving their son alone near the entrance.

Pulling himself away from the table, Gavin hurried over before Ryan's parents could return. While meeting Miles' parents had been interesting if only because it was Gavin's first exposure to a magical family, he felt nervous at the prospect of meeting the older boy's parents. He didn't know Ryan all that well really so what would they think of their son associating with a Muggleborn like him? He'd heard stories that certain families weren't all that approving of diluting magical bloodlines and he hated the thought that his own friend's parents might not like him. That would put a strain on a friendship that had barely even started.

“Hey Gavin,” the other greeted warmly, a smile spreading across his face that was quickly mirrored by the younger boy. Even with his growth spurt Gavin felt like he had to tilt his head up a little more than usual to look the other in the eyes. “How's your summer been?”

“Good so far,” he answered quickly, “Yours?”

Standing close to him made it possible the see the light golden tan across Ryan's usually pale skin.”Great. We literally just got back from Germany. Unicorn hunting,” he explained before pausing to frown. “Well, unicorn  _watching_ ,” he corrected himself. “It would probably be morally questionable if we were hunting them...”

“Really?!” Gavin gasped, green with envy. He'd heard stories about unicorns before, only fantasy tales and suspicious rumours from Miles and Cole but he'd never thought about ever seeing one with his own eyes. The thought of going to watch them in their own habitats... it sounded  _fascinating_. “That's incredible!” He already had so many questions about it. Where unicorns populous in Germany? Why? What was it like out there?

“I took photos. I don't have them on me but I can bring a couple to school with me, if you want to see them?” the older boy offered. 

Gavin opened his mouth to reply but was cut short by a heavy hand clapping down on Ryan's shoulder. He turned to glance up at the man, taking in his greying hair and thick glasses. “And who might you be?” he asked in a deep rumbling voice, looking up and down at the boy before him who currently felt like a deer trapped in the headlights. Even Ryan had suddenly tensed up, losing some of the calm composition Gavin had come to know him so well for.

“This is Gavin, dad,” Ryan said, sounding far more passive than he'd ever sounded in the younger boy's presence before. “He's a second year in my house at school.”

Mr Haywood leaned forward, peering even closer at the small boy before him. Gavin wondered if there was some sort of magic that would allow a wizard or witch to comb through somebody else's thoughts and memories because he certainly felt like the man was trying. “ _Muggleborn_ , hmm?”

Gavin nodded. He struggled to meet the man's eyes but knew better than to disrespect him by looking away, even to look at Ryan for assistance. 

“Doesn't speak much, eh?” Mr Haywood grumbled in a manner that Gavin immediately understood to be disapproving. He felt like he'd just been dunked into ice cold water or would be spending the next week in detention with his least favourite teacher.

“Sorry sir,” Gavin replied quickly, face paling. “Yes sir, I'm a Muggleborn.”

For a few long seconds nobody said anything. Another presence appeared behind Ryan, no doubt his mother, but Gavin still couldn't bring himself to look away. Finally the man pulled back and nodded stiffly. “Well then,” he huffed, glancing at his wife and then gripping his son's shoulder even tighter. Ryan winced but said nothing. “Our table upstairs is ready. Say your goodbyes, James.”  _James?_  Gavin wondered in surprise,  _Who the hell is James?_

Ryan flashed a guilty smile at him. “I'll see you at school, Gavin,” he said meekly, eyes glancing down at the ground while his parents took a step back. Gavin's mouth fell open somewhat ( _Ryan is James?_ ) and yet he found himself unable to say anything at all as the older boy turned to follow his parents up the rickety wooden staircase. A twisting unease had settled in Gavin's stomach as he watched the other leave and then reluctantly walked back towards his own table. What the hell had just happened? There was something very strange about the Haywoods, he was sure of it. As for what it was... well, he'd have to ask Ryan at a later date. Right now he just wanted September to hurry up already. 

 

_\- RT -_

 

Much like Diagon Alley the week before, Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters are King's Cross was bursting with so much magical activity that Gavin could hardly stop his heard from racing. All around him he could spy familiar faces - Ryan's fourth year friend Meg Turney skipping past, Kdin Jenzen showing off her new emerald green dress to the other Slytherin second year girls, Blaine Gibson guffawing at something with the other Gryffindor boys - and he was itching to fully immerse himself back into the world he'd missed so much.

“Not so nervous this time, are you?” his father asked as he finished helping load Gavin's cases on board. Gruchy didn't seem too pleased to be trapped in his cage as he loaded them into the nearest compartment but Gavin was paranoid the owl would get lost on its journey to Hogwarts and the last thing he wanted was to immediately lose the gift his parents had bought him, especially when it was something as special as an owl of his own.

“Just excited,” Gavin confessed, unable to hide his grin. His father seemed to understand though as he received a soft smile in return and was quickly pulled into a warm embrace. It was strange to think that this time a year ago he was terrified of being away from his parents and yet now he almost craved the freedom. He loved them both very dearly of course but being trapped back in a magic-less Muggle world for over a month had been practically torture for him.

Pulling out of his father’s arms, Gavin wasn’t all that surprised to find them immediately replaced by his mother’s. He’d always been something of a mummy’s boy - something his bullies at his primary school had teased him for - and not seeing her for long stretches of time made his heart ache. Thankfully the hole she left could be easily filled by his friends who were enthusiastic enough to distract him to the point that homesickness felt like a vague memory.

“We’ll see you at Christmas, okay?” she said softly, her lips pulls into a sad smile and her eyes dancing with crystalline tears.

“Christmas,” he mumbled in agreement, holding back his own tears. He’d always been a little bit on the sensitive side as his father always said but he wouldn’t break down now. If he hadn’t in his first year then he had no reason to now. Besides, in his experience the three months would go all too quickly and he’d find himself wishing to be back again.

Exchanging his goodbyes, Gavin flashed his parents one last smile before hopping on board and almost immediately being taken out by a group of excitable first years running down the train corridor. Settling back into the compartment his stuff had been loaded into, he rolled the door shut and let out a sigh as he enjoyed the relative silence.

That silence, of course, did not last. Miles seemed to have some sort of tracking device because no more than two minutes later the other had appeared at the door with his bags and a manic grin on his face. “What’s up with you?” Gavin asked quietly. Miles gave him a mischievous smirk in return.

“Stole a bottle of my dad’s firewhiskey before I left. He has _no_ idea,” the other boy hissed in return. Gavin had seen the alcohol cupboard at the Luna household during his stay and he’d hardly been able to believe it. He had no idea there were even that many variants of magical alcohol, nor had he expected to get the chance to drink any before he was considered a legal adult in the eyes of the Ministry of Magic.

“Isn’t it going to get confiscated?” he asked, helping the other boy hurriedly loud his bags onto the shelves above them.

“Not if you don’t tell,” Miles whispered back. Despite the confidence in his voice, Gavin wasn’t overly convinced. They had to have some sort of magical check for underage wizards carrying alcohol, right?

The topic of the firewhiskey was dropped after that, mostly because Barbara arrived at their compartment and had even _more_ bags with her. With only a small bit of grumbling the boys helped her move her stuff inside and then settled down to rest for a little while, at least until Cole showed up and they had to jump into action all over again.

Much to their surprise though, Cole didn’t show up before the train started moving, nor did he arrive during the first half hour of their journey. “He can’t have missed the train, can he?” Gavin wondered, feeling a little concerned. Barbara merely frowned in response and Miles rather violently shook his head.

“He wouldn’t have,” he asserted before his eyes lit up with excitement, “Hey, wanna try that firewhiskey?”

“You have firewhiskey?!” Barbara all but screeched, earning glares off both boys. They didn’t want the whole damn train to know that they were smuggling alcohol into the school!

Reaching into his bag, Miles pulled out the bottle full of fiery gold liquid and held it out tenderly on display. Gavin stared at it with wide eyes, his heart beginning to beat faster in his chest. He knew that they’d get in trouble for having alcohol, especially considering they were only second years, but he was far too curious for his own good. “Go on, open it!” he egged his friend on, grinning widely while Barbara fought back her own excited smile.

With a flick of his wand and a spell muttered under Miles’ breath, the bottle cork flew off the top and landed somewhere on the racks above their heads. The trio barely had enough time to take in the strong smell of alcohol that seemed to rapidly fill the room - before the liquid vanished right before their eyes, dissolving into nothing.

“What just happened?” Gavin asked after one long uncomfortable moment. Miles was looking at the empty bottle with such a look of abject horror that it was seriously difficult to hold himself back from bursting out with laughter.

“There must have been some enchantment on it,” Barbara guessed, “Or on the train. Oh I _hope_ they don’t know you brought it on board!”

“Detention on the first day would suck,” Gavin agreed. Then again that would be just Miles’ luck, wouldn’t it? Things very rarely worked out the way his friend intended them to.

Leaving the other boy to wallow in his misery for a while, Gavin and Barbara instead opted for quizzing each other on the first two chapters of _A Standard Book of Spells: Volume Two_. Gavin had done as much reading as he possibly could and while he hadn’t been able to try any of the spells out, he was surprised to find that the theory didn’t seem quite so boring when he was locked away from actually casting any real magic. If anything he felt far more prepared for what his first term of Charms classes were going to be about.

About an hour into the journey (and long after Miles had perked back up) Gavin spied a familiar face through the glass pane of their compartment door and his heart skipped a beat. Jumping off the bench, he immediately rolled the door open and all but tackled the Slytherin into a hug.

“Oomf!” Jeremy gasped, completely startled for all of a few moments before he caught sight of the blue lining on Gavin’s robes and finally relaxed into the quick embrace. “Gavin, you scared the hell outta me!”

“Jeremy, come on!” A voice down the corridor called out. Gavin pulled out of the hug, still beaming, and glanced over to see Mica Burton and Lindsay Tuggey staring back expectantly at them. Jeremy flashed him an apologetic grin as he started to pull away.

“A fourth year brought a snake with him this year!” he explained in an excited tone, “I gotta go see this. I’ll catch up with you at school, yeah?”

Gavin barely had enough time to hum an agreement before Jeremy sprinted down the corridor to follow his friends. He couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed that their reunion had been so short-lived but he supposed there was plenty of time to catch up on what they’d been doing all summer when they finally got back to the school.

Never content with leaving him alone for too long, Barbara appeared at the door and glanced down both sides of the corridor. “No signs of Cole?” she asked curiously. Gavin let out a long sigh in response and followed her back into the compartment just in time for Miles to produce a game of Exploding Snap from his bag. There was still a long way to go on their journey and without Cole or Jeremy around it seemed to be moving even slower than usual…

 

_\- RT -_

 

Gavin had been so caught up in wondering how they were going to get to the school if it wasn't by boat that he almost walked straight into the path of a rather mean-looking Gryffindor boy and ended up trampled. It was only Barbara's elbow nudging him in the ribs that caused him to focus on the world around him rather than glancing around for some other mode of transportation. The throng of students shuffled off the train platform towards a small path that towards a sparser area of the Forbidden Forest. What lay belong still remained unseen but Gavin was eager to see exactly what awaited them.

“Gavin,  _look_ ,” Barbara hissed against his ear. Gavin let out an exasperated sigh.

“I'm  _trying_  to look, I'm just a little short!” he whined, glaring at the backs of the fifth-year boys in front of him. He'd never particularly enjoyed crowds and apparently the others weren't quite as keen to get back to school as he was otherwise they wouldn't be walking so damn slowly.

“Not at that, at Cole!” Barbara's fingers wrapped around his jaw and twisted his head to make him look slightly more to the right. Sure enough he could make out Cole's curly brown hair surrounded by a group of Gryffindor boys. Gavin recognized the leader of the pack almost immediately and groaned in frustration. What the hell was Cole doing hanging out with Blaine Gibson of all people?

He supposed they'd never exactly been enemies with Blaine but the other's mocking comments about him the year before had left a sour taste in his mouth. All the whispering he'd heard before he'd joined the school had suggested that Slytherins were the bullies and the ones not to be trusted but that wasn't true in Gavin's experience at all. Jeremy was worth at least ten of Blaine, he was sure of that.

Miles followed their guys and let out a noise of disgust that Gavin was tempted to echo. “What's he doing with  _them_?” he asked, voice equal parts confused and hurt. Gavin realized suddenly tat Cole must have been as close to a best friend as Miles had at school, the same way he would argue that Jeremy was his. The difference was that Jeremy wasn't pointedly hanging out with a known bully. How could Cole just ignore that? It didn't really make any sense.

“Guess we'll find out at dinner,” Barbara responded, her tone much more measured than Miles'. A quick glance in her direction revealed that she wasn't as unaffected as her voice made her sound though. Her lips were drawn into a thin line and her eyes were slightly narrowed, radiating the same distrust that the two boys felt. “Come on, let's just get to the thestrals.”

That was enough to pull Gavin out of his thoughts. “Thestrals?” he questioned, his curiosity trampling over his concern. See, this was precisely what he'd missed over the summer - discovering new creatures that defied the laws of possibility. As a kid he'd always dreamed of dragons and unicorns but as he'd grown up he'd given up on the hope of them being real. Enrolling at Hogwarts opened his eyes to the most hidden parts of the world though and now he wasn't sure he believed anything was impossible. How could it be when there were so many fantastical things in the world around him?

As they finally followed the path into a clearing, Gavin felt himself stumble to a halt. A number of carriages were lined out before him, all of them seemingly held up by nothing at all. He supposed that wasn't overly shocking in it itself considering he'd seen all manner of household objects moving by themselves but there was something about the way the carriages were standing and moving ever so subtly that unnerved him. Were the carriages themselves alive? Were  _they_  the thestrals?

“The carriages are pulled by invisible creatures called thestrals,” Barbara explained, climbing atop onto into the carriage. Staring uneasily at the empty space beneath the carriage, Gavin carefully followed suit. “They say you can only see them if you've watched somebody die,” she continued.

A cold shiver ran down Gavin's spine. “That's not worrying at all,” he grumbled under his breath, thankful for the distraction when a number of Hufflepuffs joined them in the carriage. Miles seemed to be friendly with them and the conversation quickly moved onto far less morbid topics. Gavin couldn't help but keep thinking about it though, wondering exactly  _why_  you were only able to see thestrals under such extreme circumstances. There had to be a reason, didn't there?

It was only when the coldness of the September air had been replaced by the warmth of the castle that Gavin's brain finally moved on. His heart raced as he followed the crowd through to the great hall, memories of the past year when he'd done it all for the first time rushing back to him. He could remember exactly how nervous he'd been, terrified that he'd be exposed as a mistake and sent away. Those thoughts hadn't entirely left but he certainly felt more comfortable than he had a year ago and as he took his place with the rest of the second years towards the front of the Ravenclaw table, he found himself feeling excited to see what the next year's intake would be like.

Gavin had all but forgotten about Cole's absence until the boy sat down directly opposite and flashed him an innocent smile. It took a great deal of effort to force a smile onto Gavin's face but it was certainly more than Miles had managed. Directly next to where Cole had sat, Miles went rigid as a board and sucked his cheeks in. Gavin couldn't help but feel alarmed by the sight, terrified that his friend would explode and cause a scene in front of the entire school. Maybe he was a little more confident than he'd been in his first year but the thought of everybody's eyes pointing in their general direction made him almost squirm in unease.

“Alright,” he greeted as if absolutely nothing was strange about how events had transpired. “Good summers?”

Thankfully they were saved from answering - at least immediately - by the ringing of a bell indicating a need for silence. Gavin let out the breath he was holding and immediately turned his attention towards the grand doors that he'd been closed behind them upon entry. Slowly they began to rumble open again, revealing a herd of new first-years, all staring either up at the solarium sky the enchanted ceiling displayed or ahead towards the row of teachers. They had seemed so intimidating to Gavin at first (and in some cases, still were) and watching the first-years slowly shuffle towards the front of the hall made him somewhat glad he didn't have to repeat the experience again.

One by one the crowd slowly began to thin as the students were sorted into their new houses and Gavin found himself cheering loudly each time a new student was sorted into his house. Across the hall he made eye contact with Jeremy moments before the next student was sorted into Slytherin and there was barely enough time to exchange a brief smile before the table of students with an emerald green trim to their robes exploded in joy.

Unfortunately the moment the sorting ceremony had ended they were forced with the prospect of having to talk to Cole again. Something that had been so easy it didn't even require thinking about the year before suddenly felt like the most difficult task Gavin had faced in recent memory. That was ridiculous, wasn't it? They were supposed to be friends! Best friends, really. Just because he was apparently friends with Blaine Gibson too didn't mean things had to be weird between them as well, did it?

“So?” Cole asked, staring expectantly at each of them in turn as the golden plates before them suddenly filled themselves with food. Could he seriously not read the mood in the air? The air was thick with tension but the other boy seemed to be utterly clueless, grinning at them as if he'd been with them for the whole train journey.

With the silence carrying the awkwardness into almost excruciating levels, Gavin let out a sigh of relief when Barbara shifted beside him and replied plainly, “My summer was great. Yours?” The tension lingered in the air but it felt far less oppressive and Gavin was glad somebody else had taken that first step. He'd almost expected Barbara to confront the situation head on but he was certainly glad she hadn't.

“Pretty awesome,” Cole confessed, unabashed excitement written across his face. “I spent most of it playing Quidditch with family friends. I'm going to try out for the team this year.” Family friends? Gavin couldn't help but wonder if Blaine was the family friend in question and since when that that been the case? He'd certainly never let it on that he knew the Gibsons prior to meeting at school and he'd been just as unimpressed with the other boy's actions the year before - or at least he'd pretended to be. Gavin didn't particularly want to go through and double-guess every interaction he'd ever had with the other boy but he had no doubt that his anxious brain would do so.

“When are tryouts?” Barbara asked, carrying the conversation for them. Miles had remained completely frozen and Gavin wasn't sure he could get his voice to work either. Instead he focused on starting on the small feast he had laid out in front of him. The Hogwarts dinners were something he had dearly missed.

Cole shrugged as he loaded roast potatoes onto his plate. “Dunno. The captain likes to refresh the team every year. Fresh blood and all that,” he replied, not even looking at the rest of them, “I guess it'll be soon so we can start practice as soon as possible.”

Gavin quirked an eyebrow. “You sound confident,” he pointed out, forcing a smile onto his lips as the other boy turned to look at him. It was the least Gavin could do to try and look interested even if his insides were squirming with distrust. Honestly he wasn't sure why he cared so much about the fact Cole was friends with Blaine but the fact he hadn't said anything about it either really didn't help matters.

“I mean... I'm pretty good,” Cole enthused before shoving a forkful of food into his mouth. His next comment was entirely muffled by the mouthful of food and Gavin used the moment to exchange a pointed glance with Barbara. Neither of them really knew what to say so they opted for eating in order to excuse their silence.

Unfortunately for them, Miles hadn't made a single move in minutes and that wasn't exactly the kind of action that went unnoticed, especially when Miles was usually a 'larger than life' type who struggled to sit still stay quiet in the first place. He'd gotten into trouble for it more than once in lesson. It was honestly a miracle Cole hadn't already noticed just how strange his friend was acting because Gavin wasn't sure he wanted to be present for the inevitable moment Miles let something slip out that he really shouldn't. Unfortunately considering he shared a dorm with them that felt like a very serious possibility.

“Gavin, do you think you'd ever try out for the Quidditch team?” Barbara asked, a teasing smile on her face as she glanced up at him. He scowled in return. She already knew that his ability to stay on a broom was tenuous at best, he wasn't about to challenge himself by throwing a whole sport into the mix. He'd be bludger-fodder within an instant, he knew that much for certain.

If the conversation about his chances on the Quidditch team had ended there he would have been fine. Unfortunately Cole decided to laugh loudly at the suggestion and instead of the warm, infectious laugh Gavin had always come to expect of his friend, it sounded obnoxious and mocking to his ears.

Torn in a battle between casting a hex at the other's stupid face and sulking like a baby, Gavin instead joined Miles in becoming as rigid as a board and cast his eyes down to the table.

Conversation was somewhat strained after that, mostly carried by Barbara and her ever-amazing ability to change the topic whenever things became too awkward. Cole glanced curiously at both him and Miles as if expecting them to join in but both boys said nothing. Gavin had no idea what he could honestly add to the conversation without blurting out something he didn't mean to say. He didn't want to risk making the situation any more uncomfortable for the rest of them than it already was.

As the students were finally dismissed from the feast and instructed to follow their prefects back to their dormitories, Gavin and Miles hurried ahead of Cole and Barbara until there was a crowd of third year Ravenclaws between them. Gavin felt a little bad for leaving Barbara behind but he knew that he needed to talk to Miles before the other boy exploded in Cole's face.

“Are you okay?” he hissed in a concerned tone, watching every little movement of the other boy's face closely. Miles forced a smile onto his lips but it never quite met his eyes.

“Just tired,” the other boy muttered in return. Gavin wasn't sure why he even bothered lying when it was so easy to see right through it. There was no way that Miles was going to be able to hold his cool together when it was just them alone with Cole and he was very much not looking forward to that moment because he was going to get dragged in, he already knew it.

 

_\- RT -_

 

Much to Gavin's surprise there was no immediate explosion on Miles' part the moment the three boys were alone in the dormitory. Barbara had cast a concerned expression as she ascended the staircase up Ravenclaw Tower to the girls dormitory which Gavin caught. He could tell that she shared his dread for the upcoming confrontation but at least she wouldn't have to be in the room to experience it. That confrontation never came though. Instead Miles dived straight onto the four-poster bed and buried his face in his pillow.

Still eyeing Cole somewhat nervously, expecting him to address Miles' strange mood, Gavin proceeded to his own bed and happily relaxed down onto the sapphire blue sheets. His excitement had not only peaked, it had somehow managed to crash and burn thanks to the two boys in the room with him. Suddenly sleep seemed like the best option because his body and mind both ached with exhaustion and he was desperate to switch off. Thankfully it didn't take long for sleep to claim him and forget all about the afternoon's troubles.

The next morning their prefects handed out their timetables as they gathered in the common room on their way down to breakfast and Gavin peered over his with interest, fighting back a grin as he saw that the Ravenclaw second years would be sharing both Potions and Herbology with each other. He was never going to complain about the prospect of seeing Jeremy more often and perhaps even working with him in lessons. It would be a welcome escape from the frosty atmosphere that had somehow settled upon his close friendship group.

Settling down in the great hall, Gavin frowned as he spied Cole sat a small distance away with a third year Ravenclaw boy. “Who's that?” he asked Barbara as they settled down closer to the front of the hall. They'd left Miles behind in Ravenclaw Tower because he'd taken far too long in the shower and they really didn't want to spend their first day back in lessons without a full stomach, especially when it was kicking off with History of Magic, easily the most boring lesson on their timetable.

“Gray Haddock,” Barbara answered after a moment, pouring out a small amount of oats into her bowl. “He was a beater on the Quidditch team last year.”

Gavin let out a small snort. He supposed he should be more surprised than he actually was. It made sense that Cole might want to suck up to people who had experience on the Quidditch team. Hell, he was surprised that Cole hadn't gone straight after Ryan considering he'd kicked ass as their team's Keeper the previous year. He had to know that Gavin and Ryan were friends so wasn't that the logical option?

Thinking about Ryan made Gavin feel strangely uncomfortable though because he was reminded for the first time in a week of the awkward meeting with the other boy's parents. He was certain of the fact that they hadn't approved of him but he wasn't totally sure why. He hadn't had a chance to talk to the other boy about it either and when he glanced down the table, Gavin spied him talking to a large group of fourth years. No way was he about to intrude on that when they'd all probably just laugh him off.

“Are we going to talk about the Cole thing any time soon?” Barbara asked quietly, staring intently down at her food as if she was too intimidated to look him in the eye.

“The Cole thing?” he repeated dubiously before letting out a sigh. “I guess? I don't know. Miles will probably bring it up before I ever do.” He was just hoping that the longer it took for anybody to say anything the more the situation would diffuse by itself. The thought of Miles' irritation festering over days and weeks... well, it was enough to make him feel even more nervous than he already felt.

“Well we have Charms with the Gryffindors again this year,” she pointed out, her gaze finally drifting up and past Gavin to stare at the other house's table, “I suppose we'll see just how friendly he is with Blaine then.”

That moment came much sooner than Gavin would have liked. Charms was the last lesson of their first day and the situation between his immediate friends hadn't improved much overnight. Cole carried the conversation, seemingly not noticing that he was the only one filling the silence. Miles never openly addressed the other boy, keeping his attention solely on Gavin and Barbara which left them in something of an awkward spot too. It wasn't like Gavin wanted to be cruel to Cole and ignore him, he just wanted some sort of logical explanation because nothing made sense to him.

By the time they reached the queue outside the Charms classroom though it became clear that he wasn't going to be getting any explanation soon. Cole immediately left their group to talk to Blaine and his friends, all of whom were talking at the top of their voices and recounting a story about a Hufflepuff boy who had almost fallen into the lake earlier that morning. The whole scene made Gavin uncomfortable and he could tell like a sixth sense that Miles had already tensed up beside him.

As if that hadn't been bad enough, Miles had thrown himself down in a seat next to Barbara leaving Gavin with very few options. He froze up for a second and saw in disappointment that the only seats available were either at an empty desk right at the back of the room or next to Michael Jones, one of Blaine's obnoxious Gryffindor buddies. Apparently he'd been forced to move so that Cole could take his place next to Blaine.

Reluctantly slipping into the seat next to the boy, Gavin shot an alarmed look in Barbara's direction before turning to properly face the curly-haired boy. He met the boy's confused expression with a weak smile and instead occupied himself by getting out his textbook, parchment and ink pot. He didn't have anything to say to Michael and he didn't particularly want to sit next to him either, he just wanted to be the loser sat alone at the back of the class even less. Thankfully there was no forthcoming conversation as Michael was clearly content in ignoring Gavin for the entire lesson, only speaking when he could lean across to talk to Blaine or his other Gryffindor buddies. Gavin did his best not to listen in but his curiosity got the better of him and he kept an ear out to see if Michael addressed Cole at any point in the hope that it might explain something. Unfortunately the other boy seemed to be just as good at ignoring Cole as he was at ignoring Gavin.

When the school bell finally chimed loudly across the castle and its grounds, Gavin let out a breath that he hadn't even realized he'd been holding. Michael had been out of his seat immediately and Gavin wasn't far behind, making sure to put distance between them as he joined Miles and Barbara towards the front of the crowd escaping the classroom. “How was that?” Barbara asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“Terrible,” he growled in response, sparing Miles a fleeting glare before pushing forward again to get as far away from the Gryffindors as possible. Thankfully the Ravenclaws wouldn't have to share another lesson with them until Charms the next day so he could at least enjoy a little respite from Blaine's obnoxious... everything. Gavin had never known somebody to rub him up the wrong way the way Blaine did and it made his skin crawl. Just what did Cole like about him so much?

The conversation at dinner was strained to say the least. Neither Gavin nor Miles was particularly in the mood to respond to Cole's endless jabbering and Barbara was too busy reading through the chapters Professor Binns had already set them as their History of Magic homework. What kind of teacher set homework on the first day back? That was just  _mean_. Then again, it certainly was a welcome distraction from the booming cackles coming from the Gryffindor table. Maybe Barbara had the right idea after all.

 

_\- RT -_

 

A week into lessons and things still weren't much better. In fact Gavin was starting to make a list of things that weren't right because they were piling up much quicker than he would like. For one Cole still seemed completely clueless to the fact that they weren't overly on the best terms and Gavin was still having to awkwardly sit in silence next to Michael in Charms but even both of those seemed unimportant in the face of Gavin not having had a chance to speak to Ryan. Every time he'd seen the older boy he'd been surrounded by friends and hadn't noticed him at all. A heavy barrier of social anxiety had held him back from saying anything because fourth-years suddenly seemed like the most terrifying creatures of all.

The only highlight of his week had been Potions, which was something of a surprise. He had no great love of the subject but Jeremy had caught him by surprise by joining him at the table with Barbara, Miles and Cole. Gavin couldn't help but notice Trevor glancing curiously over at them but Jeremy didn't seem to think anything of it, he just sat down next to Gavin and grinned at him. “We're Potions buddies, right?” the other boy reminded him, bringing a smile to Gavin's lips. Considering how many times they'd helped each other with their homework for the subject and passed tips along to each other the year before it felt like a natural progression. Besides, having Jeremy present meant that Gavin was much less aware of the awkward tension that still hung over his friendship group like a dark cloud.

Already knowing that he was going to struggle, Gavin had made sure to read over his notes from Potions the year before and the next few chapters of his new book. Unfortunately that didn't seem to help much because the moment he was back in the Potions classroom he forgot practically everything he thought he'd learned. “Potions buddies,” Gavin murmured in agreement, flashing his friend a brief smile before they were ushered into silence.

Lessons turned out to be a lot more bearable with a friend like Jeremy around. It wasn't as if Gavin disliked any of his lessons, he just struggled and Jeremy seemed a lot keener to look out for him than his other friends did. Even in one lesson the two boys managed to save each other from dropping the wrong ingredients into their potion more than once. By the time the end of the lesson rolled around Gavin felt surprisingly okay with how his Sneezing Potion had turned out, even if neither his nor Jeremy's were quite the shade of yellow that Professor Oobleck had told them it should be. Small victories, he supposed.

The good mood that Potions had left Gavin with was quickly destroyed at dinner when Cole threw himself down beside Miles with a manic grin on his face. “Tryouts are on Wednesday,” he declared suddenly, as if Gavin hadn't already guessed the reason for his good mood. “I could be on the time by this time next week!”

“ _Could_  be,” Miles muttered, uttering his first word in Cole's presence for days. How the other boy hadn't noticed Miles' strange behaviour was beyond Gavin but he supposed that maybe it was just a sign of Cole's new trend of only existing inside his own head.

This time around though, Cole noticed. He blinked in surprise and turned his head to stare at Miles. “What's that supposed to mean?” he asked, his lips curving into a frown. Gavin's heartbeat began to rise. This couldn't end well at all, not when Miles' frustration had clearly been bubbling under the surface for a while and become something more.

“I  _think_  what Miles is trying to say is that nothing is guaranteed,” Barbara pitched in, trying to be the voice of reason as ever. “I mean, there's got to be sixth years with more experience than you, right? The captain might end favouring them over new blood.”

Somehow that only made it worse. Cole's brow furrowed as he turned to look at Barbara, hurt at her supposed betrayal written in every line of his face. Gavin inhaled sharply, glancing around for some sort of quick escape. “I'm better than any sixth year,” Cole stated firmly, leaving no room for argument. Barbara's gaze lowered to the table and Gavin thought that would be the end of it until Miles snorted. Even though the great hall was filled with the chatter of hundreds of teenagers Gavin felt like he could hear a pin drop in the tense silence surrounding them. 

Thankfully before Cole could really process what had happened Miles stood up sharply and stormed off, his robes billowing behind him. Barbara kept her eyes down and Gavin glanced helplessly towards the Slytherin table, hoping to meet eyes with Jeremy and find an excuse to escape the awkward situation developing around him. No such excuse came.

 

_\- RT -_

 

“We should probably go watch the Quidditch tryouts,” Barbara lamented, looking out towards the pitch from the window they were curled up by. From the height of Ravenclaw Tower it seemed so far away and no doubt it would be cold but the hopefuls were already beginning their march across the grounds towards it and they both knew that Cole was down there.

“Do we have to?” Gavin sighed, even though he was already rolling up his parchment and bottling his inkwell. Cole wasn't the only one down there for him to support, Ryan would be too. He'd joined the team as their Keeper the year before and he'd been tremendous at it so of course it made sense that he'd want to try out for the team again. Even if Gavin wasn't going to openly support Cole then at least he could cheer for the fourth year boy instead.

No more than twenty minutes later they had made their way down through the castle and out to the Quidditch stands where a small amount of other Ravenclaws were gathered. Meg flashed a kind smile in Gavin's direction as he and Barbara took seats near the front and stared up into the sky. The team hopefuls were already up in the air following a tough drill that the captain was barking out at the top of his voice. Ryan followed along with ease and even Cole wasn't falling behind, displaying a physicality that Gavin honestly hadn't expected of him. His gaze continued to move further along, scanning the faces of the other tryouts and he gasped in surprise when he spied the boy at the end of the line. 

“Barbara, why is Miles up there?” he breathed, pointing up at their friend who was doing his utmost to keep up. He wasn't far behind the others but it was clear that he hadn't spent most of his summer on a broom like Cole had. 

“Oh god, he's trying to prove a point,” Barbara groaned, watching the other boy with worried eyes. Gavin understood what she meant immediately. The only reason Miles was up there was so he could try to get one up on Cole and that wasn't going to end well. In fact it was probably going to make things even worse and suddenly Gavin wasn't so sure if the look on Cole's face was one of determination or annoyance. He and Miles had barely exchanged a word since that awkward dinner several nights before and this was only going to magnify the issue even more until it was  _everyone's_  issue.

“Do you think they'll make the team?” Gavin asked timidly as he tried to follow the high-speed action above him. He wasn't sure who he should be watching: Ryan for his skill, Cole for his speed or Miles simply because he was terrified that his friend was going to plummet to the ground and break his neck at any moment.

There was no immediate reply but the silence was telling enough. While Cole wasn't performing too badly under pressure, Miles looked like he was on the edge of losing control of his broom at any moment and that definitely didn't fill Gavin with much hope for his friend making it on the team. Perhaps that would be safer for everybody involved though. It would certainly do wonders for reducing the current anxiety Gavin felt just watching.

In a weird way, he almost wished he was up there. He was utterly hopeless when it came to flying and he knew it but that didn't change the fact that it looked so exciting that he wanted to at least try it. There was no way it would ever end up with anything other than an extended stay in the Hospital Wing anyway so Gavin knew it would be safer to remain on the ground than risking anything in the skies.

“Did you consider trying out?” he asked, glancing over at Barbara. She squirmed uncomfortably. 

“My mum wanted me to,” she confessed, “She was a Seeker here back in the day, you know. One of Ravenclaw's best.” Gavin remained silent, watching closely and waiting for her to continue. There was a deeper story there, he could tell. “She could have gone pro, she tells me that almost every day,” she continued, brushing a lock of her long blonde hair behind her ears, “Her dad wouldn't let her. He wanted her to go into Potions instead. It's not all bad though, she met my dad there.”

Gavin was pretty sure he could fill in the blanks. Feeling like she'd never followed her dream, Barbara's mother now wanted her to fulfill the dream for her. That couldn't be easy, forced into a box like that. “And what did you want?” he asked carefully, hoping he wasn't treading too close to home. The pause that followed made him worry he had.

“I just want Miles to not die,” she replied after a moment, completely avoiding Gavin's eye. He knew better than to push it any further.

By the time the flyers finally touched back down on the pitch, most of them were red in the face. Gavin had never seen Miles look so unsteady on his feet as he climbed off his broom, wincing in pain. Both Cole and Ryan, while still out of breath, looked a little better off as they dismounted. The captain regarded them all with a look of disappointment before dismissing them all. Gavin didn't recognize the sixth-year boy but he certainly didn't seem like the type of person he wanted to be on the bad side of.

Cole was one of the first out of the changing rooms, trailing behind a group of fourth-years with a sour expression on his face. His eyes darted up to meet Gavin's for a moment and he could have sworn that the boy's eyes darkened for a moment before he hurried off back towards the castle. Gavin frowned, glancing at Barbara for a suggestion but she merely shook her head. He felt like he had a pretty good idea what had put Cole into such a bad mood anyway and no conversation from Gavin could help improve the situation at all.

Ryan was the next out and much to Gavin's surprise he didn't just smile and walk past, he instead made a direct path for him and leaned in close so he could keep his voice low. “Your friend Miles is still in there. He's a little torn up,” he whispered, eyes glancing back at the changing room doors. Gavin felt his heart drop a little bit. The whole situation had escalated for more than he'd ever wanted it to. Before he could even begin to walk towards the changing room, Ryan grabbed him by the arm and gently pulled him back. “And, uh, can we talk soon?” Such a simple question shouldn't have caused so much dread to settle in Gavin's stomach but he couldn't deny that it made him feel even more nervous. When Ryan smiled his lips were drawn into a thin line and the younger boy couldn't help but wonder what was going on in his mind.

The moment Ryan finally let his hand fall and moved away to join Meg and the rest of his friends, Gavin made a quick move towards the changing rooms. Barbara was right behind him, muttering under her breath. In a horribly way Gavin felt glad she was wrapped up in this too because the splintering of Miles and Cole's friendship made him far too irritated and tired to handle alone.

Entering the changing room, Gavin wrinkled his nose in disgust at the smell of sweat lingering and instead focused on pushing past the few people making their way towards the exit in order to approach the boy with his face covered at the back of the room. They both already knew who it was and neither said anything as they sank down onto the bench either side of him.

“There's always next year,” Barbara said softy, her hand coming to rest on Miles' back. The closer he looked, the easier it was for Gavin to notice the subtle shaking of the other boy's back and hear the restrained sniffles muffled behind the other's hands.  _Oh God, he's crying_. This was even worse than he'd realized it was going to be. “You've got plenty of time to make the team.”

Miles didn't immediately respond. That only worried Gavin more. Usually they couldn’t get the other boy to shut up but recently… well, there was no way Miles was just upset at Cole on his behalf. There had to be something deeper to it.

“It wasn’t about making the team.” Miles’ voice came out as little more than a croak and it was seriously unsettling. He’d never heard the boy sound so hollow before. “I was just doing it to throw it in his face.”

Gavin glanced across Miles’ shoulders at Barbara, hoping she had some of the answers he was desperately searching for. They’d both failed to prevent the situation from spinning out of control and he had never anticipated it in ending in tears for anyone. Sure he was frustrated that Cole was hanging out with a dick like Blaine but it wasn’t worth anybody’s tears. Unfortunately Barbara looked as out of her depth as he felt.

“He’s supposed to be my best friend,” Miles whispered to nobody in particular, voice aching with hurt. Gavin paused to think how he would have felt in the other’s shoes, if Jeremy had started paying attention to his new friends and never even looking at him twice. Yeah, he could see how easy it would be to feel hurt over that.

Wrapping an arm around Miles’ shoulders, Gavin let out a small sigh. He could already tell it was going to be a long evening.

 

_\- RT -_

 

The atmosphere in the dorm room had been incredibly frosty when the boys finally arrived back. Cole didn’t address either of them though and was instead scrawling frantically onto a piece of parchment. Gavin wondered whether he should say anything but the hard set of the other boy’s jaw told him that it definitely wasn’t the time.

The next morning apparently wasn’t the time either considering by the time Gavin made it down to the great hall for breakfast Cole was already sat with Blaine and his friends at the Gryffindor table. Michael caught his eye for a moment and frowned before ducking his head and whispering something to his friends. Suddenly feeling very insecure, Gavin made his way straight towards the Ravenclaw table and dropped down opposite Ryan.

“Everything alright?” the boy asked in concern, peering over Gavin’s shoulder to where Cole was sat. Gavin very deliberately fought back the urge to follow the other’s gaze and instead focused on spreading butter across his toast as if it was the most challenging task he’d ever undertaken. Instead of replying he merely hummed a short non-committal noise and hoped for the best. “I’m going to take that as a no then,” Ryan presumed, quirking an eyebrow as he focused his gaze back on the second-year boy in front of him.

“Just… _issues_ ,” he sighed, shaking his head, “It’s silly really.”

“Is that why your buddy’s sat over with the Gryffindors?” the older boy asked, his gaze sharpening as he focused on Blaine. Gavin nodded. A long pause followed before Ryan cleared his throat and declared, “He made the team by the way. A reserve.”

That was enough to make Gavin look up and meet the other boy’s eyes. He’d figured that Cole would have announced news like that last night and had guessed that the other’s bad mood had been because he was unsuccessful. This just put a spanner in the works and made things much more difficult to understand. Instead of dealing with that situation immediately, he decided to focus on something else. “And you?”

Ryan’s face lit up with a bright smile at the diversion in the conversation. “Yeah, I’m back on the team,” he confirmed, dimples showing as he grinned like a kid in a candy store. It was infectious enough to cause the corners of Gavin’s lips to raise into a proud smile.

“You’re a bloody good Keeper, that’s why,” he agreed, glad to have some good news for once. His first two weeks back at Hogwarts hadn’t exactly been as smooth as he’d hoped and the only people he could blame were his friends which wasn’t a pleasant feeling. Seeing Ryan’s cheeks flush from the compliment filled Gavin with a happiness he hadn’t felt in a while.

The sensation lasted for too short a while before Ryan seemed to remember himself and straightened up a little. “Hey, while you’re here, we should probably talk,” he prompted, his voice lower and much more serious. Gavin found himself filling up with dread all over again. “Just… I know my dad can be kind of intense and I didn’t want you thinking…”

Ryan trailed off, leaving Gavin to guess exactly what he meant. “That he hates me?” he asked, smile dropping into a frown. “He does, doesn’t he?”

“It’s not that simple,” Ryan sighed, his gaze dropping down to the table. _That’s not a no_ , Gavin’s mind pointed out miserably. The fact Ryan seemed so hesitant about discussing the topic didn’t make him feel very optimistic about it either. This conversation was very quickly taking a turn for the worst.

“Ryan, tell me something,” Gavin started, his heartbeat racing as he thought over his next few words carefully. “Does your father hate Muggleborns?”

The other boy became very still all of a sudden. Gavin was terrified that he’d pushed things too far and he was about to have a hex thrown in his face but it never came. After a few moments Ryan finally looked up to meet his eyes. “He just… he disapproves,” he confirmed, sucking his cheeks in and grimacing. “I just didn’t want you thinking… that’s not me, okay? I don’t-- I wouldn’t-- I don’t care you’re a Muggleborn.” He let out a sigh and ran a hand through his shaggy brown hair. “I just wanted you to know. I didn’t want you to judge me because of him.”

Gavin felt like he’d been winded. He had hoped that Ryan was about to prove him wrong about his father, not confirm that one of his friend’s parents would probably quite happily call him a _Mudblood_ and treat him like he was a lesser being because of it. The thought made him shiver in disgust. It took a few seconds for him to wonder whether he could separate Ryan from that but he knew that wouldn’t be fair on him, would it? Ryan had only ever shown him kindness which was far more than he probably deserved. He couldn’t throw that back in his face now.

 “Of course I wouldn’t judge you for that!” Gavin replied finally, letting his face relax into a sombre smile. “You’re not your father, Ryan. None of us are.” Ryan seemed to relax at that, his shoulders dropping from where they’d been held tense. Staring at the other’s face sparked a memory in Gavin’s mind and he found himself talking before he could stop himself. “Who’s James?”

Ryan appeared confused by the question for a moment before he laughed uncomfortably. “I am - and, well, my father is too,” he explained with some reluctance, “I’m James Ryan Haywood the Third. Going by my middle name was just another way to get out of my father’s shadow.” He held his goblet as he spoke, swirling the juice inside around it. The nervous tic did not go unnoticed.

“The third?” Gavin echoed, his smile widening into a grin before he could stop himself. “Blimey. I had no idea you were so _posh_.”

“Hey, I’m full of surprises,” Ryan fired back, chuckling softly as he finally brought the goblet up to his lips. With the other’s gaze off of him, Gavin couldn’t help but stare at him a little more intently. Just how much of his life was the other boy keeping behind locked doors? He was almost scared to find out but as long as he didn’t have any further meetings with Ryan’s father he’d feel a lot better about it.

 

_\- RT -_

 

It was only a matter of time before the tension exploded out into something more, Gavin knew that, he just hadn’t quite expected it to be so early in the morning. He awoke to raised voices and quickly settled into panic as he realized that Cole and Miles were having their first proper conversation in weeks and it wasn’t exactly pleasant by any definition of the word.

“What redeeming qualities? The guy’s a jackass!” Miles was yelling, his voice practically a shriek that made Gavin wince. He could hear the wobble in the other’s voice and could already imagine the tears in his eyes. Apparently things had escalated pretty quickly before their argument had woken him up.

“Because you’ve been acting much better?” Cole fired back, sounding a lot angrier than Gavin had ever heard before. “You haven’t even given him a chance!” It didn’t take a genius to realize who they were arguing about. If anything it was long overdue but that didn’t make it any better to experience. Gavin wondered whether he should continue pretending to be asleep or get up and try to defuse the situation. The latter seemed like a pretty damn risky task.

“I shouldn’t need to, he bullied Gavin!” Okay, that made it a little harder to ignore. Gavin had hoped that he wouldn’t get dragged into the situation but he should have known that it was far too late for that. He was very much involved simply because he’d been the one to take issue with it first.

“Bullied is a bit of a strong word,” Cole scoffed, making Gavin’s decision for him. There was no way he could try to remain quiet after that so he opened his eyes and pushed himself up. Both boys turned their heads sharply to look at him and Gavin found himself at a complete loss for words. _How typical_. Why did he always have to freeze up at the moment he needed to speak most and yet he could run his mouth in situations where that wasn’t appropriate either?

“Back me up, Gavin,” Miles all but demanded, brows furrowed and lips set into a thin line of displeasure. He looked so unlike the happy boy Gavin had first met a year ago that he would have quite happily believed it was a different person altogether. Cole didn’t exactly look much happier either but he had always been a little more reserved than the outgoing Miles so it was far easier to accept but didn’t make Gavin feel any more comforted. He’d woken up into the middle of a full-on war and this was definitely going to be his worst awakening for a long time.

Knowing that he was stepping out onto a metaphorical mine-field, Gavin slowly pulled himself out of his sheets and stood up. Somehow being sat down for this conversation didn’t seem right and he needed to be on his fight to make a speedy escape if it really became necessary. He could only hope their argument didn’t devolve into throwing hexes at each other but honestly he was somewhat amazed it hadn’t reached that point already. “I think you both need to chill out--” he started, only to be cut off my Cole’s laughter.

“I think _Miles_ needs to chill out!” he snapped, glaring across at the boy he had once called his best friend.

Miles glared right back at him, face flushing red and fists clenching. “Oh, because _I’m_ the one with the issue, right? Because it’s my fault you’re running around with Blaine Gibson of all people instead of, you know, your friends!”

“Blaine is my friend!” Cole insisted.

“No, I’m your friend!” Miles fired back. “I’m supposed to be your best friend and I heard from you once all summer. You’ve barely even tried to talk to me back at school because all you care about is Quidditch and being Blaine Gibson’s best buddy!”

 _Merlin’s beard, this isn’t good_. It was becoming increasingly obvious that Gavin needed to get the hell out of there but both boys were stood between him and the door and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to make it all the way there without one of them stopping him. _Why couldn’t they have this conversation when I wasn’t in the room? Or, you know, not at all?_ He’d much rather them just not talk then argue explosively like this.

“So that’s what this is about? You’re jealous of Blaine?” Cole challenged, his face twisted into a cruel smirk that seemed so unfitting of him.

For the first time Miles was left temporarily speechless. His mouth hung open and several noises of shock and disbelief were produced but nothing even approaching words. Gavin worried that his friend was completely broken because he’d never seen Miles in such a state before. There was something bubbling under the surface and they all knew it but it didn’t make Gavin feel any more optimistic that this situation was going to end in any other way other than miserably.

“Have fun with your new best friend then,” Miles spat, wiping at wet eyes. He lingered only for a moment longer before storming out without looking back once. Gavin wondered whether he should go after him but he couldn’t bring himself to move. He just wanted to be free of this miserable situation, was that too much to ask?

Unfortunately it looked like things weren’t completely over as Cole turned to him, raising his eyebrows expectantly. “Well? You got anything to add?” he asked bitterly. Gavin squirmed under being the focus of Cole’s glare and shook his head. What else could he really say? There was no way he could convince his friends to see eye-to-eye again, at least not in the immediate future and he didn’t want to make things any worse between him and Cole so no, for once staying silent seemed like the best possible course of action.

When Cole finally left the dormitory Gavin flopped back down onto his four-poster bed. The only thing he was completely positive about was that he definitely hadn’t gotten enough sleep to deal with any of this and maybe a few more hours would help…

 

_\- RT -_

 

Now that the friendship between Cole and Miles had been thoroughly destroyed, things became far frostier for the rest of the second year Ravenclaws. Gavin hoped it was only temporary because the tension in his dorm room was so thick that it felt like it was smothering him. Nobody spoke and Cole avoided spending as much time there was possible - going to bed late, waking up early. Apparently his issues with Miles extended to Gavin and Barbara too because he barely looked at either of them let alone actually exchanged words with them. At breakfast he sat with either the Gryffindors or the rest of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team and he didn't spare a single glance for his old friends. It made Gavin feel uncomfortable, how easy Cole had turned his back on them and he couldn't help but feel like he was responsible because of his issues with Blaine.

“How long is this going to go on for?” Gavin asked as they head towards the Herbology greenhouses, Cole storming ahead and Miles trailing behind. While Cole was actively avoiding them, Miles had become sullen and uncaring to the point that hanging around with him was almost excruciatingly dull. He was a walking pity party and seemed unable of letting his issues go unmentioned for more than a few minutes at a time.

“I give it another week,” Barbara muttered in return, glancing over her shoulder to make sure Miles wasn't listening in. “They'll get over it soon enough.”

Gavin wished he shared his friend's level of optimism. He had a gut feeling that it was going to last much longer than that and if Cole ended up playing in the first Quidditch game of the season then it was going to spiral into something even worse. Maybe that was just Gavin's inner pessimist though. He'd always struggled to look on the brighter side of life when things very rarely went well for him.

The moment they entered the greenhouse Jeremy appeared beside him and Gavin felt himself relax a little. “I need to sit with you today,” he declared, smiling sheepishly at Barbara. She rolled her eyes, understanding immediately that it meant she was being forced to sit with Miles. “Mica and Lindsay are in the middle of a fight and it's... unpleasant,” the boy continued to explain.

“I know the feeling,” Gavin confirmed sympathetically, settling behind his usual desk with Jeremy by his side. Cole had already taken a place next to Trevor and the two barely exchanged curt nods before settling into silence. Meanwhile Miles was muttering bitterly into Barbara's ear and Gavin could only imagine what was being said.

Thankfully things with Jeremy were much easier than any of the other relationships in Gavin's life. Potions had taught them to work together well and even though Herbology was a subject that Gavin still struggled with the encouragement of his friend meant he didn't feel quite as useless as usual. It was easy to forget that there were any outside situations affecting the both of them when they were chatting about how silly it was for Hogwarts to still be using quills and parchment instead of the far more efficient pen and paper or how Slytherin's chances were of winning the Quidditch cup again this year were.

“Hey, how's your flying coming on anyway?” Jeremy asked, breaking off from their previous conversation.

Gavin felt a blush crawl over his cheeks in embarrassment. “Probably not great,” he confessed. “I haven't been on a broom in months.”

Without missing a beat, Jeremy shrugged. “I can teach you.”

“Teach me?” Gavin asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“To fly,” the other boy clarified, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. “I mean why not?” Gavin frowned. He was pretty sure there were a number of reasons why that was a bad idea but his brain was still trying to catch up with his mouth.

“You can do that?” he asked vacantly after a second.

The smile spreading across Jeremy's face was infectious. Gavin wasn't even sure why he was smiling so much but he couldn't help the pull on the corner of his lips. “Sure I can,” the Slytherin boy declared, nodding eagerly. “We'll borrow brooms on Saturday morning, spend an hour out on the grounds. It'll be fun!”

A small part of Gavin worried that having flying practice without a teacher present would heighten his chances of injury but he was also excited by the prospect of him and Jeremy having time to hang out without the pressures of lesson or homework. “Yeah, okay then,” he agreed after a moment, “That sounds good. I'm in!”

It was strange to think that he was actually excited by the prospect of flying lessons. It had been one of the first things that excited him about entering the magical world but when it became clear that the lessons were only going to humiliate him in front of his classmates then he'd been quickly turned off. Now a year later and he was suddenly excited about climbing on a broom again simply because it would only be Jeremy there. Funny how that worked.

 

_\- RT -_

 

Gavin knew he was in for a spot of trouble when one of Ravenclaw's chasers took ill the morning of the first Quidditch game of the season. It didn't affect him directly but the knock-on effect it would cause surely would because it meant Cole would be playing instead which would trigger Miles into a fresh batch of sulking which would _then_ impact on both Gavin and Barbara. See, it would just been better if the guy hadn't ended up falling sick. Who was dumb enough to take sips from a half-cooked potion anyway?

“Are you coming to the game?” Gavin asked, peering nervously across the dorm at Miles. Cole was long gone, getting ready in the changing rooms with the rest of the Quidditch team. The year before all three of them had huddled together on the stands to watch the games every term, Gavin cheering on Ryan as he saved goal after goal. There was no chance of that happening now though, not while Miles was still curled up in bed with a sour expression on his face.

“Think I'll give it a pass,” he muttered before burying his face in a pillow. Gavin felt a little bad that he was almost relieved but he chose not to dwell on it for too long. Without Miles there he could at least attempt to have a good time. It was strange that the other boy's feelings towards Cole had almost swallowed his own and while he felt a little uneasy about him being friends with Blaine it wasn't enough to majorly derail him the way it had Miles.

Abandoning his friend in the dorm, Gavin met up with Barbara and the tow made their way first down to breakfast and then towards the Quidditch pitch. The October air had a bitter sting to it and Gavin happily wrapped his blue-and-bronze scarf around his neck. He'd always been a big fan of the colder months because at least he could wrap up and hide just how skinny he was. The summer just made him stuffy and horrible and even a little nervous to show off any amount of skin for fear of being mocked. It had happened in his last school and while he had no doubt that behaviour at Hogwarts was a country mile better he still had no great desire to expose himself to any potential mockery.

The first game of the season was between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff which meant that Jeremy and his friends were free to join them in the stands without rivalry. While Gavin highly doubted they were all rooting for his house, he was at least appreciative for the opportunity to spend more time with Jeremy.

Cole's summer of amateur Quidditch games with the Gibsons had clearly paid off. He darted through the air on his broom as if he'd been doing it his whole life, snatching the quaffle out of the air and passing it to another chaser just in time for them to send it hurtling through the goal hoops on Hufflepuff's end. Any unrest Gavin felt towards Cole was temporarily forgotten as he burst into cheers along with the rest of his house.

The action was relentless and difficult to follow at times with fourteen students decorating the skies with blue and yellow and Gavin found himself on the edge of his seat at a number of points. He cheered as Ryan blocked three successive shots with the tail-end of his broom, sighed in relief as Gray Haddock smashed one of the beaters away from their seeker with seconds to spare and roared in approval as Cole expertly delivered the quaffle into the hoop for his very first goal of the game.

“He's really good!” Jeremy exclaimed, grinning widely as he glanced at Gavin. The Ravenclaw boy couldn't even bring himself to disagree. He echoed the other's grin and nodded in agreement. It didn't matter if he still felt uncomfortable about Cole being friends with Blaine because clearly that time had been spent refining his Quidditch skills and it was certainly paying off now. Every few minutes the play would move closer to the stands and Gavin caught sight of the other boy’s face, stony in determination as if the rest of the world didn't even exist to him.

While Hufflepuff put up a good resistance, saving at least half of the shots made towards their goal hoops and even scoring a few of their own, it was clear that Ravenclaw dominated the match. By the time the snitch was caught some forty minutes into the match it hardly even mattered. Ravenclaw had won a crushing defeat against the other team which would start their season off strong and bolster their chances at winning the Quidditch Cup come July. The stands erupted with cheers and applause, footsteps thundering along the wooden stands as the Ravenclaws chanted their victory song. Even Jeremy joined in, guessing at half of the words as he threw his arm around Gavin's shoulders.

As the players touched down on the field, Cole immediately began glancing up at the stands. His eyes met Gavin's and a brief smile flashed over the other boy's lips before he stared at the people Gavin was surrounded by and frowned. The moment was over as quickly as it had begun, with Cole turning and instead giving the thumbs up towards the Gryffindor stands where Blaine was surely cheering him on. Gavin wasn't sure if any of his friends had noticed Cole's fleeting moment of negativity but he forced himself to forget about it and revel in the victory instead. It wasn't often he had something to be so happy about.

 

_\- RT -_

 

Still riding off the high of Ravenclaw's victory in the first Quidditch match of the season, Gavin was suddenly more excited for flying lessons with Jeremy than ever. He still felt incredibly unsteady on his broom and his hands stung from gripping too tight to the wooden shaft but he felt like he was making progress and that was a great feeling. He could see why so many people liked flying and why the turnout for the Quidditch tryouts had been so high. While he certainly wasn't confident enough to add a whole sport onto flying quite yet he couldn't help but hope that maybe one day in the future he'd be able to give it a shot.

“That's it, you got it!” Jeremy praised as Gavin's broom rose smoothly several feet into the air. He relaxed his grip on the broom, doing his best to keep his breathing steady. “Just relax,” the other assured him. Apparently he was too tense which would lead to losing control of the broom easier. Relaxing wasn't exactly the easiest thing to do though when he felt like he was going to fall and break his neck at any point. Then again they did say that practice made perfect and every time Gavin climbed onto his broom he felt a little more comfortable. It would take a long time for him to actually be a _good_ flyer but he was fine with baby steps.

He'd taken similar small steps in other areas too. His grades in Transfiguration and Charms were rising, not to mention the progress he was making with Jeremy in Herbology and Potions. He'd even had a somewhat pleasant conversation with Cole in the Ravenclaw common room a few days after the game which had been somewhat enlightening. He didn't think the other boy was a particular bad guy, not by any stretch of the mile, he just couldn't really understand why he was friends with an obnoxious clown like Blaine Gibson.

Unfortunate the corresponding event had been Miles becoming even more miserable. He'd perked up with the smallest smile when they had told him that Ravenclaw won the game but the moment the conversation had turned to Cole's performance his mood had sunk again. With rumors swirling that Cole would be put on the team full-time following his performance Miles' mood only dropped further. He was a misery to be around, plain and simple, and it made Gavin feel uneasy to think about the fact he was almost avoiding one of his supposed best friends.

“We need an intervention or something,” Barbara declared one morning over breakfast. Miles was once again sleeping his morning away and Cole was with the Gryffindors leaving them to talk relatively freely. “This can't go on for any longer. Miles is miserable, I'm miserable, you're miserable...”

Gavin couldn't help but agree. A serious dark cloud had hung over their once happy friendship group since the beginning of the year and it was time they got rid of that cloud to let the sun shine through. “What can we actually do?” he asked, leaning in a little closer, “I'm not sure they'll be open to sitting down and talking about their feelings.” Merlin's beard, he could only imagine how that situation would end up.

“But that's what they need to do!” Barbara stressed, letting out a frustrated sigh. “This is stupid. _They're_ stupid.”

“Amen to that.”

Unfortunately there were no immediate conclusions for their situation. Sitting them down together would be impossible and with them both doing their best to stay away from each other as much as possible they didn't really have many other options. “We could always lock them in a cupboard together,” Barbara suggested, her voice tinged with hope that was enough to show off that she was clutching at straws.

“Wouldn't work. They'd just _Alohomora_ out,” Gavin countered with a tired sigh. At this rate he was half tempted to throw them both into Devil's Snare so that the only way they could get out was if they remained calm. It was an extreme measure but it was beginning to look like the only option if they were going to sort things out and get back to being actual friends.

The frosty atmosphere between the second year Ravenclaws was quickly mirrored by their surroundings as they fully entered winter and the castle was decorated in traditional Christmas lights and ornaments. A large green tree was proudly on display in the entrance hall and two stood either side of the teacher's table in the great hall while the enchanted ceiling dropped quickly disappearing snow towards them.

Gryffindor had gone up against Slytherin in the second Quidditch game of the season and had narrowly won after the Slytherin seeker had been knocked off their broom. Cole had celebrated with Blaine and his friends but Gavin, Miles and Barbara commiserated with the Slytherin crowds they had joined at the start of the game. Gavin silently noted that their loss and Gryffindor's small amount of goals meant that Ravenclaw was still in the lead in terms of points towards the Quidditch Cup but he knew there was a time and a place for that discussion and it really wasn't when Jeremy and his friends were moping their defeat.

The flying lessons had to be put on hold as the weather conditions became a little too extreme. Gavin had barely mastered the technique of staying on his broom, he wasn't about to test himself in freezing cold air and the weak blizzards that were beginning to pick up. Instead he camped out in the great hall with Jeremy as the other boy taught him all about the professional Quidditch leagues and exactly how his favourite team were performing. “We should go to a game sometime!” he suggested enthusiastically. Gavin couldn't help but eagerly agree.

With only a few weeks left until the end of the term it seemed increasingly unlikely that things were going to improve between Miles and Cole. The former's love of the Christmas season meant that he had perked up a little at breakfast and dinner when they were surrounded by festive decorations but whenever they were in lessons and Cole was sat a mere few desks away he was sullen and quiet again as if they were right back in square one.

By the time they had all piled into one of the thestral-pulled carriages Gavin almost couldn't wait to get away from school altogether. Hopefully a break would clear everybody's heads a little. Merlin knew they needed it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I think it would be cruel to make you wait a whole month for the second half of their second year, I shall be posting it in the middle of the month! Will they ever escape the tween angst they've found themselves in? You'll find out soon!
> 
> You can find me on tumblr at [ramcour](http://ramcour.tumblr.com).
> 
> While you're there, also check out [this awesome aesthetic board for the Ravenclaw students](http://cassianandaw.tumblr.com/post/158361652936) made by my amazing friend Daisy!


	3. Second Year, Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin's second year continues as he tries to resolve the drama his friendships have regressed to.

Compared to the tense atmosphere that had been smothering Gavin and his friends in the months since they returned to Hogwarts, Christmas with his family had been a breeze. It felt good to forget about all the issues and just enjoy being surrounded by people he loved and who loved him. There were no hidden agendas or risks of waking up to blazing arguments that would make days and weeks impossible uncomfortable. As always he found himself missing magic but thankfully there were enough distractions to keep him from dwelling on that fact for too long, not to mention the small pile of homework he'd been assigned to complete over the break. Apparently teachers didn't seem to appreciate that the students only really wanted to relax over Christmas rather than keep working.

Gavin regaled his close family with stories of his classes, assuring his parents that he was completing all of his homework and was having the time of his life. There was something in the way his mother looked at him that suggested she knew more than she was letting on but she never addressed it and he was thankful for it. The last thing he wanted was to dwell on it for any longer than was actually necessary. He needed a break and that was precisely what he got, making him feel far more refreshed than he realized was actually possible. It almost made him want to wish for the holiday to last forever simply so he didn't have to throw himself back into the uncomfortable atmosphere that had overtaken Ravenclaw Tower over the past several months.

As he packed up his suitcase the night before he was due to return to King's Cross and catch the Hogwarts Express back to school, Gavin realized he had only one goal in mind for the rest of the term. He was going to make Miles and Cole see eye-to-eye even if it killed him. From a distance he found that he simply didn't care that Cole was friends with Blaine. Sure the guy was an idiot and a bully but who was Gavin to choose who Cole could be friends with? That wasn't fair of him at all. Now he just needed Miles to see things the same way but he had a feeling that would be much easier said than done because as much as he loved being friends with Miles, he knew that the other boy had a flair for the dramatic and he was too damn set in his ways now to suddenly change and accept that Cole was going to have non-Ravenclaw friends. The Quidditch situation had only made it a whole lot worse and it was going to be difficult to patch things up between them but somebody needed to do it, didn't they? There was no way they could keep going on like this, it simply wasn't possible.

Opting not to spend his time searching for his friends, Gavin settled into the nearest quiet compartment he could find and let out a long breath. His heart ached almost as much as it had the first time he had left his parents to go to Hogwarts and even though he knew it would only be six months until he’d be back it still felt like too long, especially as he didn’t know what kind of atmosphere he’d be returning to. He was joined shortly after by Matt Bragg, a Hufflepuff second year, and then Kery Shawcross. Despite being a second year Gryffindor Kerry didn’t seem to have much association with Blaine Gibson or his cronies and Gavin was pleasantly surprised to find he didn’t come up in conversation once.

The journey was strangely serene as Gavin conversed with the two boys he’d only had discussions in passing with before. They talked about their classes and what they expected to be learning the next term followed up by several heated discussions about their early predictions on who was going to be winning the Quidditch Cup. Gavin hadn’t realized quite how much he cared about it until Matt insisted that despite their early lead Ravenclaw didn’t stand a chance. On the whole the journey was surprisingly pleasant and even featured a few other friendly second years poking their heads in to say hello, seemingly just as perplexed and bemused by the random gathering as the boys were themselves.

_Probably the calmest conversation I’ll have all term anyway_ , Gavin mused somewhat miserably as the boys stepped off the train and made their way towards the thestral-pulled carriages. He felt a little bad that he was almost dreading sitting down at the Ravenclaw table for dinner because he should have been excited about seeing his friends, not worried about what misery they could bring this time around. Hanging out with Matt and Kerry had been so comforting that he’d almost forgotten what a dangerous battleground he was re-immersing himself into.

_Oh well. As my dad always says, once more unto the breach - or whatever the hell that even means…_

 

_\- RT -_

 

“Okay, I’m officially sick of winter now,” Jeremy lamented as he threw himself down at the Ravenclaw table one Friday morning two weeks after class had resumed. “It’s cold and I’m miserable, plus we can’t work on your flying until the frost goes away.”

“I mean we could, we’d just freeze,” Gavin pointed out before shoving some more toast into his mouth. “And I don’t like the cold,” he added, his voice muffled by the mouthful of food he was currently eating. Mica chose that exact moment to join them at the table and stared at him with a look of disgust before shaking her head and settling down.

Gavin wasn’t sure when exactly it had become common for the students to start sitting at any table they wanted because it certainly hadn’t happened during their first year but he was a little thankful for it. The more Jeremy and his friends joined him for breakfast, the less he had to deal with the still tense atmosphere between Cole and Miles. The former was still sitting at the Gryffindor table with Blaine and his friends whereas Miles had taken to sitting with Matt and Chris Demarais on the Hufflepuff table. Honestly Gavin was just glad that their silent warfare wasn’t currently affecting the Ravenclaw table.

“You’re good at Transfiguration, right?” Mica asked, staring directly at Barbara. The blonde looked like a deer in headlights as their party all turned to look at her. She nodded meekly. “Do you mind going over my essay with me at some point? There’s something wrong with it and I don’t know what. Trevor’s being annoying and won’t tell me.”

“Uh, sure. Library after class today?” Barbara suggested, relaxing her shoulders and smiling. Gavin knew her well enough to be able to tell that the smile was forced but he was glad to see she was making the effort with one of Jeremy’s friends. Was it too much to ask for them to all get along? He just needed one big stable friendship unit right now because there was some serious stability lacking when it came to the Ravenclaw boys…

 

_\- RT -_

 

Towards the middle of February the frost and chill that had kept Hogwarts prisoner for weeks finally began to lighten up and with it came the fresh air and new beginning that Gavin had desperately craved. Perhaps the improved weather didn't heal every wound he had hoped (Cole and Miles still acted like total strangers who were physically incapable of interacting) but the rest of Gavin's friends seemed in lighter spirits. Most importantly though it meant that he and Jeremy could continue their private flying lessons which Gavin had missed far more than he'd expected to. Considering he still didn't have the confidence to rise much more than ten feet in the air, he was actually beginning to enjoy flying and he was never going to complain about the chance to hang out with just Jeremy rather than any of their friends crowding around. It wasn't as if he had an issue with Barbara or any of Jeremy's Slytherin crew but it was nice to spend some time alone with the other boy so they could laugh at their dumb inside jokes and not have to worry about anybody feeling left out.

“You're getting real good at this!” Jeremy declared proudly as Gavin allowed himself to rise to a new personal best of fifteen feet. Forcing himself not to hold onto the handle of his broom with a death grip was difficult but he had learned the hard way that holding on for dear life was actually rather counter-productive. 

“You can start saying that when I'm on the Quidditch team,” Gavin joked in return, beginning to tail Jeremy as he led them on a path across the grass down towards the Herbology greenhouses and around to the caretaker's hut, skirting along the edge of the forest. They didn't go too fast - past attempts to increase speed to anything close to what was expected of Quidditch players had ended with Gavin being launched off of his broom and a brief visit to the Hospital Wing - but it still felt so relieving to feel the chill of the cold wind against his face, sending his shaggy hair wild. 

As they settled back down onto the grass some ten minutes later, both panting for breath, Jeremy glanced over at him with curiosity written across his face. “Is that what you want?” he asked suddenly, “To join the Quidditch team?”

Gavin paused, taking a moment to consider it. “Maybe?” he replied, shrugging it off. “I guess it might be nice. Got a long way to go yet.” Sparing a thought to how he'd perform on the Quidditch team with his current skill level, Gavin could only laugh and shake his head. He'd be going to the Hospital Wing for far more severe reasons if that ever happened.

“It's nice to have something to aim for,” Jeremy hummed, deep in thought. His face brightened into a brilliant smile as he added, “I think you could do it. Eventually.” And then, as if that didn't have Gavin already grinning, he finished with a simple, “I'd cheer for you.”

As they placed the school's training brooms back into the broomstick cupboard Gavin couldn't help but wonder exactly what good deed he'd done in a past life to deserve a friend like Jeremy in this one. “What about you?” he asked in return, “I could see you in Slytherin green!”

Jeremy's laugh had a way of being infectious and filling Gavin with an unexpected warmth which it did at that very moment. “I don't know. Maybe I'll try out next year,” he replied dismissively.

“You're a really good flyer! I bet you could have made the team this year,” Gavin enthused, pulling his robes closer around him as they begun their long walk back up the path towards the castle. They weren't the only students out on the grounds because the moment something even resembling sun had appeared the rest of the student body had apparently decided that it was the only bit of sun they were going to be seeing for months and they needed to enjoy it while it lasted. Despite the brightness being cast upon them, it still wasn't overly warm and Gavin boggled at the sight of a few Gryffindor seventh year boys who were only wearing shirts rather than their full robes.

As they finally returned to the warmth of the school's entrance hall, Jeremy turned to flash another grin in Gavin's direction. “Well, never say never, right? Who knows, maybe in a few years we'll be playing against each other.”

The thought made Gavin strangely excited. He'd never really been one for competitive sports but throw magic into the mix and suddenly he was a bit more interested. If he was playing both with and against friends then it would be even more fun. Well, unless one of those friends sent a bludger flying at his head. He wasn't sure how he'd feel about that, especially if it hit its target. “Never say never,” he repeated in agreement, surprised by just how much it felt like a promise.

 

_\- RT -_

 

The competition for the Quidditch Cup heated up once again after the game between Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Rooting for a different team than Jeremy and all of the other Slytherins that they had befriended over the winter term felt a little strange but Gavin was still going to be loyal to his house. Cole wasn't going to be playing as he was once again relegated to being a reserve - and players couldn't be switched out mid-game, something Cole had told Gavin shortly after he'd gotten his place on the reserve team - so he'd taken a place in the Ravenclaw stands instead and had been joined shortly after by Blaine. Gavin couldn't help but notice that Michael and the rest of Blaine's Gryffindor buddies remained in the red-decorated stands some distance away. Did it mean anything? Probably not but it was certainly an interesting twist in the tale to take note of.

Huddled among the rest of Ravenclaw house, Gavin once again found himself amazed by how much he actually  _cared_. There was nothing like a bit of healthy competition and he found himself cheering in delight every time the quaffle was sent powering through the Slytherin hoops and winced as one of their chasers was hit full blast by a bludger and dropped from their broom to the ground some twenty feet below. Even though the fall had been cushioned by magic, Gavin couldn't help but feel uncomfortable as a result. Apparently he wasn't the only one because Cole had started angrily yelling after that and talking about sabotage. Gavin was pretty sure that the Slytherin team had more honor than that but he knew better than to start an argument with Cole over something like Quidditch which he took such a fierce interest in.

With a chaser down, the game became a lot more difficult for the Ravenclaw team. The remaining two chasers did their best to intercept the quaffle and pass it between them but they were simply too outnumbered without their teammate there to back them up and soon Slytherin had taken the lead in points. Gavin winced at every score while both Cole and Miles on opposite side of the Ravenclaw stands howled similarly in disgust. By the time the Slytherin seeker wrapped his fingers around the golden snitch and ended the game, Gavin and many of the other Ravenclaws had already set themselves up for disappointment. A wave of groans spread across the blue-coloured stands while roars of celebration echoed from the Slytherins. Gavin could even see Jeremy dancing around in joy with Trevor and Lindsay and had to fight back a smile. Even if his team hadn't won, he was still glad that one of his friends was having a good time.

“We have to win our game against Gryffindor and hope Slytherin mess up their last game if we're going to win the Cup,” Cole told him once Blaine had left to meet up with the rest of his house. “We're still in second for now so we've just got to hope that Hufflepuff kick Slytherin's ass.” As much as Gavin's initial thought had been to support Slytherin in that game simply because of his friends, a selfish part of him knew that Cole was right. If he wanted his house to win then Slytherin would have to be  _crushed_. The thought almost made him laugh.

“We'll do it,” he replied. Cole seemed to appreciate the confidence in his voice and nodded in agreement as the first genuine smile Gavin had seen from him in months spread across his face. That alone made him feel like there had been at least one victory that day, even if it hadn't been on the Quidditch pitch. Maybe it wouldn't matter as much to Cole but it certainly mattered to Gavin.

 

_\- RT -_

 

“We need to start thinking about our third year options.”

That certainly hadn't been what Gavin had expected to hear as he sat down to dinner, his mind still on the History of Magic essay he'd just spent hours in the library finishing up. “Barbara, it's March. We don't need to make any decisions yet,” he reminded her, glancing at Miles for reassurance. The other boy just shrugged, apparently content to go along with whatever Barbara told him. They both knew how fruitless it would be to argue back with her but that had never stopped Gavin. He could be just as stubborn as she was when he wanted to be.

“You can't leave it until the last minute!” Barbara huffed in return. “These options can affect the rest of your life.”

“Don't you think it's a little strange that they force us to make major life decisions when we're only thirteen?” Gavin mused aloud, glancing around at his friends for reassurance. They both paused to consider it before mumbling in agreement. None of them could pretend to understand why that happened but Gavin knew it wasn't just limited to the magical world either. Even in the Muggle world it happened and it had always seemed a little strange to him. “I don't know. Maybe I'll ask Ryan for some tips.” Asking an older student made sense, right? Ryan was a fourth-year now, he had to know whether he'd made the right subject choices or not.

Barbara seemed temporarily reassured by his declaration and smiled. “Third year's so close I can actually taste it. We'll be able to visit Hogsmeade!” she enthused, almost bouncing in her seat, “I've heard so many good things about butterbeer but my parents have never let me had any.”

“It's  _nice_ ,” Miles confirmed with a swift nod of his head. “Like 'foam at the mouth' nice. My brother says it has nothing on firewhiskey though.”

“I think it's going to be a while before we finally get that firewhiskey,” Gavin joked, remembering their attempt on the train that had ended with an empty bottle and no alcohol in their system. Something told him this was going to be a quest for them to complete next summer - if Gavin even saw Miles during the summer. He had a feeling the situation going into the school break was going to be much different from how it had been at the end of their first year if things between him and Cole didn't patch up. Even around his other friends Miles' attitude had changed and not exactly for the better. Gone was his frequent laughter and dumb jokes. Instead he spent most of his time moping and internalizing his thoughts rather than expressing them instantly as he once had. The transformation scared Gavin a little because he knew there was far more going on in Miles' head than he let on and it didn't seem all that positive either.

“You could say that it was  _whisked_  away,” Barbara cut across, grinning wildly. Gavin barked out a laugh before he could even stop himself while Miles groaned and lowered his head against the palm of his hand. At least they had Barbara's terrible puns to bond over in all of their miserable glory. “Hey, my puns are  _magic_ , I'll have you know!”

Gavin could only roll his eyes. “Please stop now.” Somewhere over the summer Barbara had apparently acquired a joke book and her pun quality had plummeted through the floor while their frequency skyrocketed. They gave him something to laugh at but he couldn't deny that she was really scraping the barrel with some of them. 

Thankfully they were interrupted from any more of Barbara's bad jokes by the arrival of the Slytherin squad who seated themselves around the three Ravenclaws. Gavin fought back a laugh as he saw the confused expression on a Ravenclaw first year boy's face when Trevor dropped down onto the bench next to him. It was strange how something so small could make him feel so good but after the tense, uncomfortable atmosphere of the first three months of his second year he was more than happy to accept any and all entertainment that brightened his school experience. Maybe Miles was content dwelling in his despair over the end of his friendship with Cole but Gavin wasn't going to let that affect him anymore. 

A simple look around reminded him why he  _couldn't_  waste it.

 

_\- RT -_

 

By the time April rolled around Gavin could no longer ignore that he would soon have to make his third year choices and so he kept his word to Barbara and turned to Ryan for help. He had caught the older boy perched on an armchair by the windows looking out across the grounds, reading a book, and decided it was the perfect opportunity to approach. They'd been joined shortly after by Ryan's friend Meg and while Gavin felt a little intimidated around people he didn't know that well, Meg's smile as she pulled up two more armchairs and offered one to him was brilliant enough to put him at ease.

“You're a Muggle-born so you'd easily excel in Muggle Studies,” Ryan pointed out.

Meg frowned. “You might also find it really boring,” she pointed out, “I mean I'm pretty sure you already know how to operate a toaster.” Ryan shrugged, leaving the option totally up to Gavin. He supposed Meg was right on this one - he didn't particularly think that studying about the same world that he'd come from before he'd discovered magic sounded all that interesting.

“Not Muggle Studies,” he declared, shaking his head. “What's Arithmancy like?”

“Math,” Ryan offered in return, “Difficult math.” There was a flash of something that might have been regret on his face but it was gone in an instant.

Gavin wrinkled his nose in disgust and shook his head again. “Okay, what are my other options?”

“Divination, Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures,” Meg explained. “I took Muggle Studies and Divination and they're both... well, I can't see me taking either to NEWT level.” Gavin hadn't even begun to think about exams. His third year would mark the very gradual start of his OWLs which he would eventually take in his fifth year. Thankfully he didn't seem to do so badly on tests as long as they were question-and-answer. It was the long-form essays that he struggled most with. Something told him he wouldn't escape essay-writing entirely no matter what he took.

“What did you take?” Gavin asked, turning to face Ryan.

“Arithmancy and Divination.”

“Not much help to me then,” Gavin lamented. “Then again, I'm really not good with animals.” He let out a long sigh. Why was this more difficult than it had to be? He'd rather the school just tell him what to study rather than picking it himself because he was too indecisive for his own good and he was always left feeling like he'd made the wrong choice. This was too big of a deal for that feeling to creep in. 

Meg glanced around the common room for a moment for whistling loudly. “Sorola! Is that your Ancient Runes textbook?” she hollered at another fourth-year. Gus Sorola, the somewhat sullen-faced bespectacled boy who had once loudly criticized Gavin for his eternally messy hair, just nodded in reply. He was crouched over in front of an essay that had to be several rolls of parchment long.  _Who even writes that much?_  Even among Ravenclaws who were supposedly the smartest house if reputation was to believed there was a real lack of masterful homework being produced. Just because they understand what was being asked of them didn't mean they had the energy to talk about it in full-depth all the time. “ _Accio textbook!_ ” Meg quipped, flicking her wand towards the textbook Gus was studying out of and catching it with ease as it shot towards her. Once it was in her hands she dropped it into Gavin's lap. “Take a look. See what you think of Ancient Runes.”

Compared to the prospect of studying even more complicated maths, Ancient Runes seemed like a godsend. It was intriguing in the way that most magic had been to him at first and it actually made some sense to him. He found himself nodding as he turned from page to page. “This seems doable,” he confirmed. Meg seemed somewhat pleased with herself as she used  _Wingardium Leviosa_  to levitate the book back towards Sorola.

“Okay so Ancient Runes and... Care of Magical Creatures?” Ryan predicted. Gavin tried to imagine himself in the lesson, studying about the magical beasts Miles had told him horror stories about over the summer. They didn't sound overly inviting. No, they sounded rather terrifying to tell the truth. He really didn't want to come face-to-face with an acromantula and the blast-ended skrewt sounded like something he didn't want to be trying his luck with. 

“Is Divination really that bad?” Gavin asked after a moment of hesitation. The fourth years shared a look before shrugging in unison. “Telling the future could be fun, right?”

“If you like reading tea leaves, _sure_ ,” Meg sighed. She shook her head until her dark hair fell in front of her glasses. “Just pick what feels right for you. At least if you mess up it was your choice.”

Ryan let out an audible groan as Gavin’s jaw dropped slightly. “Gee, thanks!” he gasped, not entirely sure how to take her comment in stride.

Meg just flashed another one of her winning smiles back at him. He supposed he wasn’t getting much more of an answer than that, but at least he felt like he now had _some_ sort of answer, even if it was just one to appease Barbara in the meantime…

 

_\- RT -_

 

As Gavin and Jeremy left breakfast early one late April morning for yet another Flying lesson, both boys were caught off guard by the presence of Barbara and Mica following them down to the brooms cupboard. “Come to watch or something?” the Slytherin boy asked, glancing curiously between the two girls.

Mica just rolled her eyes, brushing past both boys with a skip in her step. “Where’s the fun in watching?” she replied dismissively.

“You want to… take part?” Jeremy asked, seeking the same clarification that Gavin also found himself needing. Most of their friends barely acknowledged the fact that he and Jeremy had been disappearing together every Sunday morning to fly around the grounds and now the thought of having company almost disturbed Gavin. He was comfortable flying in front of Jeremy because he trusted the other boy not to laugh at him but Mica and Barbara being there threw a spanner into the works.

“What, we can’t take part just because we’re girls?” Barbara challenged, smirking at them as she bounced past to join Mica. Gavin shared a wide-eyed look with Jeremy as they tried to find the words to accurately express their joint confusion at the interruption.

“That’s not was I was saying at all!” Jeremy huffed, his face flushing red for a moment. Gavin flashed him a sympathetic smile and clapped him on the back as they all reached the brooms cupboard and began fishing out the standard school brooms for them each to use.

Mica regarded the old broom in her hand with a look of disgust. “This doesn’t have a patch on my Firebolt III,” she lamented. Gavin balked at the thought because hardly anybody had a Firebolt III, especially kids their ages. Hell, they were lucky if they got the second edition broom and that was still a good eight years old!

“Maybe daddy will let you take it out of the yard next year,” Jeremy teased, earning a sharp glare from the Slytherin girl. Gavin watched the exchange with nervous wide eyes, totally caught off guard by the whole situation. He hadn’t realized just how little he knew about Mica but the fact that Barbara didn’t seem quite so phased by the revelation meant she’d clearly learned a lot about the other girl since they’d started hanging out a few months prior.

“You’ll be eating your words when I make the team and you don’t, Dooley,” she fired back in return. Jeremy pulled a face in return but there was no comeback which Gavin was glad for. They didn’t need the situation escalating and he wasn’t quite sure just how friendly the banter between the two Slytherins was.

Thankfully there was something else that caught Gavin’s attention and he glanced curiously at the other boy as they moved to an emptier space on the grass to kick off from. “You’re going to try out for the team then?” he asked.

Jeremy smiled back at him. “I mean, you seemed pretty confident I could do it… I thought why not, right?” he mumbled in return, cheeks flushing pink for a moment. Gavin could hardly believe it but the other boy almost looked shy which was certainly not an emotion he expected from Jeremy who had always seemed so outgoing and confident before. The slight colouration was gone in a moment when Jeremy turned his attention back to the girls and asked, “So what _are_ you doing out here? I’m pretty sure you don’t need a lesson from me.”

Barbara glanced nervously at Mica and Gavin realized that he hadn’t actually seen Barbara on a broom since their lessons in the first year and she’d only been a slightly more confident flyer than him back then. How much had she really improved? He thought back to his discussion with her when they’d sat and watched the Quidditch tryouts, about how her mother had been a star seeker back in her days at the school and how she’d avoided the question when Gavin had asked her what she wanted when it came to Quidditch. Why had she been so reluctant to answer anyway?

“A race,” Mica declared, her tone not leaving any room for argument. “No teams, we just go for it. Right round the castle, across the lake and circle back to here.” Gavin tried to follow the route with his eyes and that big empty stretch of water across the lake didn’t make him feel all that good. What were the chances that he’d slip, fall into the water and have an encounter with the famous giant squid? If it was going to happen to anyone then of course it would be to him.

“That sounds fair,” Jeremy confirmed with a nod of his head before glancing in Gavin’s direction, “You up for it?” The question was laced with a level of concern that didn’t go unnoticed and brought a smile to the Ravenclaw’s face.

“Of course,” he fired back with a level of confidence that was plucked out of thin air rather than anything he actually felt. He was already recounting every bit of advice Jeremy had ever given him about flying and just hoping it would do him some good so that he didn’t humiliate himself too badly.

Mounting his broom, Gavin became suddenly rather aware of every breath he took. While Jeremy had been teaching him to increase his speed in their recent sessions, he’d never really _raced_ before. A look around at the others’ faces suggested that he was perhaps the only one. Even Barbara had relaxed into an expression of grim determination.

They kicked off the ground one by one and Gavin did his best not to tense up too much. _Relaxing is the key_ , Jeremy had once told him. He repeated those words in his head like a mantra, letting his shoulders sag down ever so slightly as he allowed himself to trust that the broom wasn’t about to buck him off. He was past those days now thankfully but that didn’t stop him from feeling apprehensive considering this was the first time he was going to be flying in front of more people than just Jeremy.

“You guys ready?” Mica asked, tying her long black hair into a high ponytail before grabbing hold of her broom again. She looked at each of them in turn, her smirk almost daring them to back out. It was one of the main reasons Gavin didn’t let himself because he knew she would torment him over it for weeks, if not months. Jeremy might stand up for him but there was also the possibility that he might be disappointed in him for giving up without even trying and think he was a coward. Gavin hadn’t realized just how much the other boy’s opinion of him mattered until that very moment but he knew he didn’t want to risk the other regretting ever bothering to teach him.

“Three. Two. One!”

Wind rushed around Gavin as he pushed forward, making a straight line towards the farthest point of the grand castle he called home. He trailed at the back of the pack, Barbara a few feet before him, herself only a short distance behind Jeremy. Mica had shot to the front without looking back, going faster than anybody Gavin had ever seen before. _That’s what happens when you grow up spending half of your time on a broom_ , he reminded himself. All three of them had an advantage over him because their parents had probably taught them how to fly. He was a Muggle-born and as such hadn’t even known that flying that humanly possible until almost a little under two years ago.

As they began rounding the Clocktower and moving up towards the Astronomy Tower, Barbara shot forward with a burst of speed Gavin had never expected from her. Jeremy was pushed back into third place as she gained on Mica and the other boy seemed just as confused as Gavin was by this new development.

Despite trailing in fourth place, Gavin didn’t feel quite as worried about it as he’d thought he would. He was still competing but a part of him had already known there was no chance he’d be able to match Jeremy or Mica and now that Barbara had shown off that she was actually far more talented on a broom than she’d let on in their first year, he didn’t really see the point of pushing himself over his limit. He would only put himself in danger and a race wasn’t worth that.

As such by the time Gavin turn the corner around the Astronomy Tower the other three were swooping lower and he didn’t hesitate to follow suit. There was no way he could match their speed but as gravity assisted the magic keeping his broom afloat, he let out a yelp of appreciation. He could see why some people were such speed junkies when it felt so good to have the wind racing through his shaggy hair while still knowing that he was in total control as long as he pulled out of the dive quick enough.

In front of him Barbara pulled ahead of Mica, speeding over the courtyards and down towards the lake. Mica trailed, only fractions of a second behind and Jeremy brought up third only seconds after both girls. Quite content with his leisurely pace once he’d pulled up from his dive, Gavin enjoyed the sight of his friends having a healthy competition - right as fireworks began to explode in the sky, colouring the bright blue day with greens and reds.

A quick glance down confirmed that the fireworks were simply spells being sent up by a bunch of older boys in a courtyard below and Gavin was moving slow enough that changing course to avoid the courtyard was easy enough. _What the hell are they doing?_ His friends weren’t quite so lucky. Moving at such tremendous speeds, all three of them shot right over the courtyard and while Jeremy quickly swerved to his left, both girls continued to power through. Purple flashed through the sky for a moment and Mica screamed, causing Gavin’s anxiety to immediately spike.

_Oh god._ He could hardly bring himself to look as he realized the latest spell had hit the tail-end of Barbara’s broom and the wood had begun to splinter. She barely had time to direct towards the nearest safe landing spot before the broom holding her up crumbled away entirely and left her dropping like a stone. She seemed to fall in slow motion and even from thirty feet away Gavin was sure he could see the terror on her face as she screamed. Both Mica and Jeremy raced towards her, heading straight for the ground without any sort of hesitation.

They were too late to help. Barbara roughly collided with a stone statue on her descent, silencing her screams, before she dropped the remainder of the distance onto the courtyard grass and lay very still indeed.

 

_\- RT -_

 

Being hauled in front of a professor along with Jeremy and Mica to be told that they would each lose twenty points from their house and be placed in detention the following evening was not nearly as scary as Gavin had predicted it would be. His mind was occupied up in the hospital wing where Barbara was being treated and he couldn't stop himself from worrying. Madam Pomfrey had assured him there was no need to worry and that his friend would be fixed up in no time but that didn't make Gavin feel any easier. He hadn't even known that broomstick racing was against the school rules at the time but he'd felt uneasy about it from the moment Mica had first suggested it.

“What you did was irresponsible and foolish! It's a wonder it took this long for one of you to end up hurt!” Professor Ironheart scolded, his withering gaze cast upon each of them in turn. “Your flying privileges are revoked until the end of the year.” Gavin's heart sunk in his chest as he realized what it meant. He and Jeremy wouldn't be having any more of their private flying lessons meaning the next time he'd be allowed on a broom was the start of his third year. He could already feel himself missing it.

Risking a glance across at Jeremy he was somewhat surprised to see that the other looked angry rather than upset. Gavin didn't know where that anger was directed but he silently prayed that it wasn't towards Ironheart because he didn't want his friend to risk an even more severe punishment. Losing house points and being thrown in detention was humiliating and having their flying rights revoked was frustrating but if it escalated further then Gavin wasn't sure how he'd ever be able to look his parents in the eye again. They had been so proud of how he'd turned a new leaf and stayed out of trouble since starting at Hogwarts and he didn't want to start messing it up. It was already going to be hard enough confessing that he'd broken the rules by taking part in a race that had ended up with one of his best friends in the hospital wing.

Mica's gaze was firmly fixed on the ground and Gavin could swear that the area around her eyes looked a little wet. He couldn't say he blamed her all that much because he felt like crying too, not because of the punishment but because of what had happened to Barbara. Gavin had never been so terrified in his life and he hadn't even been the one at the risk of danger.

By the time Gavin finally made it back up to Ravenclaw Tower he was fighting back tears of his own and his hands couldn't stop shaking. He was barely able to focus enough to answer the riddle in order to enter but as he stumbled in he fell into somebody's strong grip. Staring up with glassy eyes, Gavin let out a breath when he realized it was Ryan. “Hey, you're alright,” the older boy whispered. “It's okay, you don't need to beat yourself up over it.” As Ryan pulled him into a hug Gavin didn't fight back. His body felt totally drained of the energy that he'd been full of that morning when they'd walked down to the broom cupboard.

“I went by earlier,” another voice said, prompting Gavin to finally pull back. Cole was stood next to Ryan, a sympathetic smile etched onto his face. “She's doing okay. She'll be fine.” He clapped Gavin on the back and pulled him into a brief hug. Considering everything that had alienated Cole from their friendship group throughout the year the simple gesture of comfort meant more to Gavin than anybody might have expected. 

“I think I just need to lay down,” Gavin croaked finally, uttering his first words since the race earlier that day. His brain was still trying to deal with a number of conflicting emotions happening at once and it didn't make things all that easy for him. He almost felt guilty for the sympathy being shown to him by his friends because he clearly didn't deserve it.  _It was a stupid idea. I should have said no._

Letting Cole wrap an arm around his shoulders and guide him towards the stairs that led up to their dorm, Gavin tried to convince himself that people weren't staring at him. It was difficult to see anything other than judgment in their eyes as he passed and he knew that deep down he deserved every bit of judgment they were throwing at him.

 

_\- RT -_

 

Detention was to be spent in the dungeons with Professor Oobleck, scrubbing out the insides of dirty cauldrons. Not even the simple cleaning spells they'd learned in their first two years at the school had much effect and so they were forced to perform the tasks in much the same way Muggles might - with some washing solution and a cloth. Gavin thought it was a somewhat strange task to be assigned for a detention but it wasn't the first time he'd completed such a task and so he was quite content keeping his head down and getting on with the work. Jeremy too started to complete his work with minimal complaining more than a few grunts of effort. 

Mica, on the other hand, seemed to have a lot to say on the subject matter. It wasn't hard to imagine that she'd never had to clean anything in her life so of course she took issue with the thought of being forced to do manual labour in order to make up for their mistakes. It was no secret that Mica came from a relatively wealthy Pureblood family and while she wasn't quite as prejudiced as some other families in the same position, she still seemed to possess quite a few qualities of somebody who expected to be treated better simply because they were richer than their classmates.

“This is servants work!” she hissed, angrily scrubbing at a small cauldron that was spoiled by a large purple stain. “Don't they have people to do this for them?” Judging by the fact the cupboard of dirty cauldrons seemed to have built up over several years, Gavin was going to guess the answer to that was no.

“Stop complaining,” Jeremy huffed, firing a sharp glare in Mica's direction. “We wouldn't be in this situation if it wasn't for you.” Gavin wasn't sure he'd ever seen such a dirty look on his friend's face and was caught totally off guard even if he couldn't help but agree with what he'd said. The race had been Mica's idea after all but then again they'd been stupid enough to agree to it. She scowled right back at him and ducked her head back down to continue working.

Professor Oobleck was a rather odd man to work under, his mood changing from minute to minute, but he seemed more interested in his marking than actually monitoring what they were doing which allowed them some freedom to converse in whispered tones. He barely reacted to a single one of Mica's complaints and only craned his head ever so slightly when the door opened. “Join the others,” he ordered sharply before getting right back to his works. The students all glanced up from their cauldrons and a ripple of surprise passed through the room as they saw that the person joining them was none other than Barbara. Her arm was in a sling and her skin was pale but the rest of her injuries had been healed right up by Madam Pomfrey's magic.

Ducking her head, she walked towards the piles of cauldrons and with her one available hand, pulled the top one from the tower and placed it in front of her. After that she paused and glanced up to find her three classmates staring at her in varying levels of shock.

“How are you?” Gavin hissed, sparing a glance towards the potions professor to see if he was at risk of being reprimanded. Thankfully Oobleck had returned to acting completely unaware of the world around him. At least they could rely on him for that.

“Fine,” Barbara mumbled, eyes darting between the three of them for a moment before staring at the cauldron in front of her. She pulled out her wand and began trying the same few cleaning spells that Gavin and his friends had tried first. “We have to do this the hard way, huh?” 

None of them seemed to know what to say. The urge to apologize was pulling on Gavin but he also knew that it would cause more issues that would certainly raise their voices above what Oobleck could feasibly ignore. Besides, did he really have anything to apologize for? Sure, he could have refused to take part in the race but would that have stopped Barbara from getting on her broom? He supposed that if anybody had the right to feel guilty it was Mica for suggesting the race in the first place and a quick glance in her direction he had a good feeling that she really did feel that guilt. The blame didn't fall solely - or even by majority- on her shoulders though. No, it was the sixth year boys who had thought it would be fun to distract them while they were flying that were the real culprits responsible for Barbara's accidents. Miles had done some snooping and confirmed that they were all receiving even more severe punishments for their actions which made Gavin feel a little better.

“Are you gonna be fine doing it by hand?” Jeremy asked, nodding his head towards the arm wrapped up in a sling. 

Barbara pulled her arm out of the sling, wincing slightly. “Madam Pomfrey said it should be healed up in a few days. It shouldn't be too bad,” she declared, an expression of grim determination falling across her features. 

Some five minutes later it became clear that doing her own work wasn't really a possibility for Barbara. She grimaced with every movement and it became painful to watch. “Barb, stop,” Gavin hissed. She paused, still struggling with her first cauldron, and turned to him. “You're hurting yourself.”

“Give me your pile. I'll do it,” Jeremy declared, already reaching out to grab from her pile. 

Gavin rose to his feet and began taking several from his friend's pile too. “We'll split it.” After a moment, Mica moved to pull the rest of them with her, leaving Barbara with only the cauldron currently in front of her. She glanced at each of them in turn before frowning.

“That's not fair,” she mumbled. “I want to do my part.”

“It's fine, Barb. Just... take your time, okay?” Gavin assured her. 

It was slow work, cleaning each of the cauldron's by turn and Gavin was fairly surely that his arms would ache for days afterwards. They finished up the last of the cauldrons - Barbara sneaking cauldrons from their respective piles every twenty or so minutes when she'd finished with hers - and by the time Oobleck allowed them out the clock had already ticked past nine o'clock. While it was hardly the latest Gavin had been awake during his time at Hogwarts he was certainly glad for the moment he felt his head hit the pillow and sleep take him into its comfortable embrace.

 

_\- RT -_

 

The last thing Gavin had been expecting to see when he and Cole walked out of the great hall after dinner just a few days later was Barbara standing a short distance away from Professor Ozpin, the headmaster, and a woman Gavin didn’t recognize. She was tall, wearing long sapphire robes and with her long blonde hair pulled back in a high ponytail. “Dude, do you know who that is?” Cole hissed, nudging him in the ribs.

“No?” Gavin asked, picking up on the excitement in his friend’s voice.

“That’s Belinda Dunkelman, Barbara’s mom!” Cole explained, practically bouncing from foot to foot. “She was the best Seeker Ravenclaw’s ever seen. Never lost a game!” _Okay, that explains how he knows who she is._ It was really no secret that Cole was a rather avid Quidditch enthusiast and he’d no doubt done his research into the team’s history when he’d decided that he was going to try out for the team at the start of their second year.

Cole was already making a beeline for her despite the fact that Mrs Dunkelman was talking to their headmaster. Gavin reached and grabbed Cole by the sleeve of his robes to hold him back, earning a confused glare from the other. “What’s she doing here?” Gavin whispered, raising the most important question. It wasn’t as if parents regularly made visits to the school and now that they were closer he could see the sullen expression on Barbara’s face. _Something bad is happening_. It had to be.

Finally noticing them, Barbara smiled and took a few steps closer, inviting them to do the same. The closer they got the easier it was for Gavin to see how forced her smile was and dread began to set in. What the hell was going on? “Hey guys,” she greeted, her voice glum as she pulled them both into a hug. _Something is definitely wrong._

“Why’s your mom here?” Cole asked as they pulled back, glancing over her shoulder to stare at one of his Quidditch idols a little longer.

When Barbara glanced towards the ground and stumbled over her words, Gavin allowed his brain to put the pieces together. “Is she taking you home?” he asked slowly, not wanting to believe that was even a possibility.

“For a week or two, yeah,” Barbara confirmed, barely able to meet his eyes. There were dark circles around her eyes, not bruises but the leftover signs of tears. That didn’t put Gavin much at ease either.

There were so many questions that he was desperate to ask but before he could even begin to start vocalizing any of them, Barbara’s mother approached and suddenly Gavin had no control over his voice at all. Apparently neither did Cole as he stood up a little straighter and put on his most winning smile.

“And who might these boys be, sweetheart?” Mrs Dunkleman asked, glancing between Gavin and Cole before looking to her daughter for an answer.

“This is Gavin Free and Cole Gallian,” Barbara introduced them, her voice strangely stiff. “They’re my friends.”

This was apparently news to Mrs Dunkelman. “So you _do_ have friends,” the woman declared proudly, “I knew you were making up stories to throw me off. Trying to make me believe that _my_ daughter, _mine_ , had no friends at all! It’s lunacy, darling. You never fooled me.” Barbara seemed to flinch with every little word, her eyes fixed firmly on the ground as her mother continued. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both. Thank you for keeping my little rascal company, I hope she’s not too much trouble on you.”

Gavin and Cole exchanged looks, both clearly overwhelmed and confused by the situation they’d found themselves in. Gavin had at least had the forewarning that things weren’t totally right between Barbara and her mother but Cole seemed totally blindsided by the whole thing. “She’s no trouble at all,” Cole replied after a moment, the hesitancy in his voice more due to confusion than any sort of dishonesty. “She’s great, even.”

“The best,” Gavin confirmed with an eager nod of his head, “Pretty sure I’d be failing in History of Magic without her.”

“History of Magic?” Mrs Dunkelman repeated, a delicate laugh to her voice, “Well, I suppose you always were bookish than me…” The look she threw in her daughter’s direction was laced with meaning that escaped Gavin and he was rather glad it did too. He found himself suddenly thankful that his relationship with his parents was so positive when clearly his friends couldn’t always say the same. Belinda didn’t seem like a terrible woman but her relationship with her daughter definitely seemed _strange_ somehow, Gavin just couldn’t place his finger on why.

After a few uncomfortable moments, the woman straightened up and cleared her throat. Her delicate fingers wrapped around Barbara’s shoulder and she pulled her a little closer. “Well, darling, we must be off. Say your goodbyes, yes?”

Alarm began to creep into Gavin’s mind. Just from looking Barbara in the eyes he could tell that this early break from school wasn’t something she’d asked for but did he really have the authority to argue with it? “I’ll send you an owl or two, yeah?” he mumbled, digging his hands into his pockets and shifting awkwardly from toe to toe. Barbara seemed reassured by the words, flashing him a relieved smile as Cole echoed his statement.

“See you in a few weeks, Barb,” the other boy finished, his voice confident. “You’re not getting out of the exams if we still have to do them…” The comment was greeted by a laugh from their friend and a high-pitched chuckle from her mother who was already beginning to pull Barbara away.

As their friend disappeared out of the grand doors of the school, Gavin couldn’t help but feel a shiver go down his spine. It was terrible to think about considering her relation to one of his best friends but he felt strangely sure of the fact that he didn’t much like Belinda Dunkelman very much at all.

 

_\- RT -_

 

Following Barbara's flying accident a string of bad luck seemed to befall Ravenclaw house. Their house points had never dwindled so quickly before as students were caught out for misbehaving or wandering around after-hours and soon they were bottom in the running for the house cup. Then, just as it seemed that the only place they'd find any success that year was the Quidditch Cup, four of the Quidditch team began puking up spiders the evening before the final Quidditch match of the season.

“We're two Chasers, a Beater and a Seeker down,” Cole explained the next morning, dressed up in the sapphire blue Quidditch robes he'd only gotten to wear once before. Despite the bad luck that had seemingly cursed their times, he found himself in high spirits simply because it meant he got another chance to play despite only being a reserve. “The captain's going around recruiting all the reserves he can.”

Gray Haddock, Ravenclaw's only standing Beater now that his teammate was in the hospital wing, threw himself down next to Cole. “Team's been submitted so the game's going ahead,” he confirmed, desperately grabbing at a whole stack of pre-prepared toast.

“Who else did he get?” Cole asked curiously in between frantic bites of his own toasted cheese sandwich.

“Hagan for Beater, Jules for Seeker and Luna for Chaser.” Gray apparently hadn't noticed the weight of that last announcement as he barely spared a glance towards Cole. Gavin, on the other hand, tensed up immediately and trained his eyes on Cole, expecting an explosion. Instead the only reaction he got was a slight frown and a nod of his head.

Gavin didn't see Miles that morning at all which made him feel strangely nervous. The last time he'd seen Miles on a broom he'd been struggling to keep up with the rest of the hopefuls trying out for the team so how would he fare in a fully-blown competitive Quidditch game, especially when the pressure to win was so high? The thought of another one of his friends ending up injured like Barbara had made Gavin's stomach turn. Had his entire year been eclipsed by some bad luck curse or something because nothing seemed to be going particularly right for him and his friends. As such, he wasn't sure if he could even bring himself to be hopeful about the result of the match. He'd settle for Miles surviving without any major injuries to be a success at this point.

Ryan made a brief appearance at the breakfast table shortly after Cole and Gray had hurried off to talk strategy with the rest of the reserves. The third year's face was flushed and his breathing ran heavy as he dropped down onto the bench opposite Gavin. “Running late,” he grunted in explanation, grabbing a small stack of warm toast and a load of butter to spread across it. “This is not our day.”

“You're not  _ill_ , are you?” Gavin inquired, narrowing his eyes in suspicion at the older boy. There was definitely something 'off' with Ryan and the flushed face could quite easily have been the result of more than just rushing. In fact, Gavin felt fairly safe betting on that considering the nervous glance Ryan gave him. “Oh god, we're going to be crushed.”

Ryan shook his head in defiance as he rammed toast into his mouth. The gesture didn't feel Gavin with much confidence. Half of their team were untested reserves and now their Keeper was ill too. What sort of foul luck was this? Gavin just wished that Barbara was back from whatever house arrest her peculiar mother had put her under so that she could share the misery with him.

“You better not get yourself hurt,” he demanded, staring pointedly at Ryan. “Seriously, if I have to make a hospital wing trip for a single one of you I won't be happy.” The chances were he'd have to at least visit Miles, if not Cole too, and he really didn't want to add Ryan to the list. Surely the older boy knew better than to play Quidditch while he was ill! Then again, with half a team down wouldn't they have to forfeit without their Keeper too?

“Roger that,” Ryan confirmed through his mouthful of food, brightening up with a brilliant smile complete with cheeks full of toast as Meg joined them at the breakfast table. Gavin took that as his excuse to leave. While they'd never actually confirmed it, he was pretty sure that Ryan and Meg were more than just friends and he probably needed her reassurance more than Gavin's worry at that very moment in time.

By the time he was walking down to the Quidditch stands, Jeremy and their Slytherin friends in tow, an uneasy sensation had spread throughout Gavin. As much as he wanted to be supportive of his friend, the truth was that he wasn't entirely convinced Miles was skilled enough to survive the brutality of a Quidditch match, especially against Gryffindor who were notoriously rough in their games. They had once been reigning Quidditch champions and clearly didn't like being knocked off their throne given the fiery attitude they had brought to every game since the days of that winning streak. Much to his surprise, he wasn't the only one worried.

“I feel uncomfortable even watching him,” Mica declared just two minutes into the game. Miles hadn't even started off all that badly, shooting into the air with grace and tailing the Gryffindor chasers across the pitch, ready to snatch the quaffle from them should it fall from their grasp.

Behind them Trevor hummed in agreement. “He's too hesitant,” the other boy contributed, speaking with an air of confidence as if he judged the sport professionally. “Not watching for bludgers enough either.”

Their concerns did very little to make Gavin feel reassured. In fact he felt even worse as a result, his stomach twisting in anticipation of the worst. He'd settle for a bad game result as long as his friends made it out of there all still in one piece. He wasn't even aware of the fact he'd been fidgeting until he felt a hand firmly clasp around his own and glanced to see Jeremy watching him rather than the game. “He'll be fine,” the other boy assured him in a quiet voice, his face relaxing into a comforting smile. “So will Cole and so will Ryan. You guys have got this.”

Gavin let out a breath and nodded. Jeremy was right, he just needed to be a bit more positive. Ryan was an experienced Keeper so feeling a little under the weather wasn't going to negate all his skill, Cole had been training extensively all year and Miles... well Miles had dumb luck on his side. He'd always been the lucky one of the group, never managing to injure himself even despite his clumsiness. 

When Jeremy's hand finally released his own, Gavin hummed in disappointment. Maintaining physical contact with the other boy had been strangely relaxing but even at his young age he knew what people would think if they saw two boys holding hands and that wasn't a question Gavin wanted to answer. Hell, he hadn't even started to think about it for himself just yet. Instead of dwell on that for too long, he turned his attention firmly on the game and cheered in delight as Ryan blocked two successive shots from the Gryffindor chasers. 

The quaffle found its way into Cole's possession and he took off down the pitch like a race car, swerving between the opposing players as if he'd been doing it every day of his life. Even as a bludger rocketed towards him all it took was a quick loop to send it spinning off course and out of his path. For a few glorious moments it looked like he was going to make it all the way to the hoops --

Only for the Gryffindor seeker to blast straight past him at the very last second, forcing Cole to adjust his path slightly to the right. The distraction was enough for one of the Gryffindor chasers to snatch the quaffle out of his hands and rocket back down towards the Ravenclaw hoops. Gavin was cursing right along with Cole as the other boy began his desperate chase to reclaim possession of the quaffle but just moments later the Gryffindor chaser's pass was intercepted - by Miles!

“Holy crap, he's actually got the quaffle,” Kdin gasped. The other girls murmured in disbelief right beside her. Apparently it was something nobody had expected.

Miles wasn't quite as graceful as Cole had been with his dodging but he made good use of levels, rising up above the competition and then shooting down as they attempted to follow him. He made it halfway across the pitch before a bludger moved straight into his path. “Cole!” he yelled, haphazardly throwing the quaffle towards his teammate before making what had to be the sharpest turn anybody could make on a broom. The bludger grazed his shoulder and Gavin winced as Miles spun out of control for a few moments before finally regaining control.

Cole didn't miss a beat, delivering the quaffle straight to the end of the pitch and hurtling it through the tallest of the hoops even as the Gryffindor keeper struggled to guess which he was aiming for. The Ravenclaw stands erupted with cheers, stamping their feet in delight and Gavin's heart jumped for joy as he saw Miles and Cole fist-bump as they passed each other.

The game continued in a similar fashion for the next twenty minutes - the seekers still hunting for the golden snitch, the bludgers doing their very best to knock out the opposition and both teams competing in a near race for the amount of goals. Ravenclaw sat in a slight lead of twenty points but it wasn't nearly enough for Gavin to relax. They all knew that whoever caught the golden snitch would win the game and whoever won the game would effectively change the course of the entire Quidditch Cup. There was a lot riding on this.

Gavin couldn't help but notice that Ryan was moving slower than usual and even from a distance he could see the frustration on the other's face after every goal he failed to catch in time. Thankfully their defense was decent enough to keep the chasers away at the best of times but there were definite murmurings among the Ravenclaw crowd that they could be performing a lot better if only their full team was in play. Considering they'd been thrown together the morning of the game Gavin happened to think that they were performing fairly well.

As the game crept past the half hour mark, Miles gained possession of the quaffle again. He and Cole traded off as they made their way down the pitch, keeping the Gryffindor chasers on alert as they desperately tried to intercept. Gavin watched in amazement, both surprised and delighted by the level of teamwork they were showing considering they'd spent the better part of a year purposefully ignoring each other.

Then, just as Cole passed the quaffle to Miles and he prepared to take his shot, a bludger collided hard with Miles' side and he slipped from his broom. A horribly familiar sensation crept inside Gavin's mind as time seemed to move in slow motion. The quaffle dropped from Miles' hands and was easily caught by a waiting Gryffindor chaser while Miles fell towards the ground. His fall was cushioned by a spell at the last second but his eyes were closed and there was a definite lack of moving that worried Gavin. 

“ _Mother Mercy_ , that was a fall and a half,” Lindsay whispered. 

“I hope he's okay,” Mica murmured, expressing concern that Gavin hadn't even known her to be possible of where Miles was concerned. He was hardly the type of person that she'd bothered to spend much time befriending after all.

Gavin's hand sought out Jeremy's again and he was relieved that the other boy didn't pull away. “He'll be fine. See, they're already taking him straight to the hospital wing,” the Slytherin boy assured him. Gavin watched as Miles was moved onto a floating stretcher and carried off of the pitch. He was in half a mind to follow them immediately but he knew he couldn't leave while two of his friends were still playing and the fate of his team's ultimate victory was still in hand.

The game passed by like a blur after that. Only fifteen minutes later and the Gryffindor were up by sixty points. Every time the quaffle hurtled through the hoops, Ryan swore and began gesturing wildly to the rest of the team. Disappointment had begun to ripple throughout the ranks of the Ravenclaw audience as their dreams of claiming Quidditch Cup victory seemed to slip further and further away. They hadn't scored a single goal since Miles had been taken off and it was clearly having quite a negative effect on morale both for the team and their supporters.

By the time the Gryffindor seeker caught the snitch and sealed their defeat for good Gavin considered it almost a blessing simply because he was finally put out of his misery. Jeremy clapped his on the shoulder, expressing his commiserations but by that point Gavin's thoughts were focused on Miles.  _Looks like I'll be making that hospital wing trip after all_ , he mused in regret.

Gavin was so wrapped up in his concern that he almost mixed the obnoxious yelling and jeering off a certain group of Gryffindor boys until Mica began moaning about how loud they were. “Nobody cares what they have to say anyway,” she hissed in disdain. “Typical Gryffindors, thinking the world revolves around them.” Gavin silently thought about the fact that Kerry wasn't quite like the other Gryffindors he'd met but when he glanced over and saw that the people Mica was complaining out were none other than Blaine and his cronies he couldn't help but agree.

“And did you  _see_  Luna? He was crying on the floor!” Kyle Taylor all but yelled before cracking up in laughter. Even Michael who had been relatively subdued every time Gavin sat next to him in class was laughing and it only made Gavin's blood boil even more. He'd been prepared to let it go when he thought they were just being obnoxious about their victory but knowing that it was Miles' injury that had them in such a good mood made him see red.

“I'm gonna hex them into oblivion,” he growled, pulling his wand from his robes as he marched forward. Jeremy and Trevor raced after him, no doubt to pull him back, but they needn't do anything at all because it wasn't Gavin that reached the Gryffindors first - it was Cole.

He looked at each of them in turn, expression creeping further into a fury that Gavin had only seen from him once before. “You think Miles getting hurt is funny?” he demanded, standing his round and blocking their path. Gavin slowed his own approach, watching closely from a small distance away.  _Is this really happening? Cole standing up to his own friends over Miles of all people?_  It seemed so absurd and unlikely given how the last year had progressed that Gavin wasn't entirely sure he wasn't dreaming it up altogether. 

“I mean  _yeah_ ,” Blaine replied with a carefree laugh, “Why don't you? The guy's a loser, you said it yourself.” There were a few jeers of agreement from the other boys but Cole didn't appear deterred at all. “You going soft on him now he's crying for his mummy?”

Even though he found himself rooted to the spot, Gavin's grip on his wand tightened. It would be a cheap shot to fire a hex at Blaine's back but the temptation was so strong he almost couldn't stop himself. The other boy clearly didn't have morals so why should Gavin have to? Blaine and his cronies more than deserved a bit of misery considering their attitude.

“Mother Mercy, I am so done with putting up with you,” Cole hissed through gritted teeth. “You're a bully, Blaine. All of you are and I'm done pretending like I'm okay with it because I don't want that on me. Miles is ten times the person any of you are and the fact he got to play Quidditch this year while none of you even made your team says enough!”

It was an outburst that Gavin couldn't have imagined in his wildest dreams and raised so many more questions than he had answers for.  _Cole was only pretending to like them? That's a twist._  A twist that he definitely needed clarification for but now wasn't exactly the time, especially not when Blaine pulled out of his wand and pointed it straight at Cole.

“Fine. You want to go back to being a loser and disappointment to your family, feel free,” the Gryffindor boy hissed, “But don't come crying back to me when you realize being friends with people like Luna and Free isn't going to get you anywhere good.”

Much to Gavin's surprise, Jeremy surged forward at that and stood next to Cole, brandishing his own wand. “You're going to regret saying that,” Jeremy snapped, his eyes flashing with a ferocity that Gavin had never seen before.

After his brain had a moment to think about what was happening, he quickly joined Jeremy on Cole's other side and felt a rush of relief as Trevor and the three Slytherin girls joined them, all facing off against the small band of bullies. All of the Gryffindor boys had drawn their wands and the two sides stood in uncomfortable silence, facing off against each other --

“What in the heavens is happening here?!” Professor Port roared, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher displaying a surprising level of authority given his usual laidback nature. “Dueling over Quidditch? That's ten points lost each! I suggest you break it up before you find yourselves in detention!”

For several more moments of oppressive silence none of them moved until Blaine finally lowered his wand, sneering at Cole. “Understood, Professor,” he mumbled, beginning to back away. Seemingly reluctantly, the other Gryffindor boys hid their wands back into their robes and skulked away, following their leader back up the castle.

Professor Port turned his attention to the remaining group as they finally lowered their wands. Even under his thick white mustache they could see the disappointed frown beginning to form on his lips. “Gallian, Collins, Jenzen... I expected better of you,” he sighed, addressing each of his star students in turn, “I expected better of all of you. Be glad you're only losing house points.” The surprising level of weight in the teacher's voice made the words fall heavier on Gavin's mind. 

The moment Port left the Slytherin crew slowly began to depart, bemoaning the loss of fifty house points between them. Only Gavin and Cole remained, sharing a look that ran much deeper than the surface. They had a lot they needed to talk about but first of all, there was one priority in both of their minds. “Hospital wing?” Gavin asked, his voice tinged with hope.

Cole nodded. “Hospital wing.”

 

_\- RT -_

 

Miles was released from the hospital wing two days later and Barbara returned the day after that, finally reuniting the four friends around the Ravenclaw table that dinner-time. After the argument with Blaine and his friends after the match Cole had taken to hanging around with Gavin again and had even had some private words with Miles in the hospital wing that Gavin hadn't been privy too. While they didn't seem to automatically be better, the wounds were healing and that was enough to satisfy him.

Barbara had been filled in on what had happened at the Quidditch game via owl the day after the match but she still made them recount the whole story to her in person while she slowly ran her hand soothingly up and down Miles' arm. “I'm proud of you both anyway,” she declared once Cole had finished retelling the whole thing, “Sounds like if Miles hadn't been hit by the bludger we might have been in with a shot.” Everybody knew that the Quidditch Cup was far out of Ravenclaw's reach now and it was safe to presume that Slytherin would be the victors as long as they scored more points than Gryffindor had managed overall. Gavin was praying and hoping that was the case because he couldn't bear the thought of seeing Blaine looking smug if his house were the victors.

While Miles was resting in the hospital wing Cole had taken the time to explain his situation to Gavin in the privacy of their dorm. The Gallians and the Gibsons were close family friends and Cole had been expected to join his cousins in Gryffindor. He was apparently the first Ravenclaw in the Gallian family for several generations and that immediately marked him out as the black sheep of the lot. Over the summer his father had all but forced him into Blaine's company and seeing that it made things with his family a lot more bearable Cole had decided to continue hanging around the other boy, even though he confessed that he thought Blaine had a terrible personality and his friends weren't much better either. Now that he'd chewed Blaine out and the other boy had likely complained to his parents about it Cole was certain that he was in for a miserable summer.

“My mother's invited you all around for a week in August, by the way,” Barbara piped up once the conversation had moved on. “Well, specifically Gavin and Cole now she knows you exist but it wouldn't be right without Miles too.” Gavin hummed in agreement. It was best they did things as a group of four again instead of splitting up. The past year had been a whole case study in why that was a bad idea.

Cole seemed elated by the idea. “You think she'll teach me some Quidditch tricks?” he asked breathlessly.

Barbara rolled her eyes. “She'll love talking Quidditch with you. She never shuts up about it,” she grumbled, once again setting off Gavin's curiosity. He couldn't help but wonder exactly what conversations had been had between Barbara and her mother during her two week absence from classes. The thought of spending more time with Belinda Dunkelman left Gavin feeling a little uneasy but at least he'd have his friends all there. That was all the reassurance he needed.

 

_\- RT -_

 

The final few weeks of the summer term sped past in the blink of an eye. Slytherin were crowned victors of the Quidditch Cup - something Mica would not hesitate to mention at any point in any conversation, no matter what it was about - and Professor Ozpin happily declared Hufflepuff the winners of the House Cup during the year's final feast. There were no real surprises there but a promise rippled down the Ravenclaw table that next year they would claim both. They had been so close and both had slipped through their fingers.  _Never again_.

As they stepped off the Hogwarts Express and onto Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters all the way back in King's Cross, Gavin found himself grinning. He'd managed to say all of his goodbyes - to Ryan, to Jeremy, even to Chris and Kerry - and he while the summer was a welcome break, he didn't feel nearly as stressed going into it as he had before Christmas.

“You look happy,” his mother commented as she wrapped her arms around him in a warm embrace. “Everything worked out okay in the end?”

Gavin glanced over his shoulder at where Miles and Cole shook hands amicably while Barbara watched proudly on and nodded. “More than okay actually,” he replied, letting out a sigh of relief. The summer was full of promise, particularly when it came to healing any wounds that still caused tension in their little friendship group. They had time to work it out. Something told him next year wasn't going to be nearly as stressful as their second year had been - but maybe that was just him being hopeful...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always you can follow me on tumblr at [ramcour](http://ramcour.tumblr.com)!
> 
> Check out [this cute sketch of Ravenclaw!Gavin by user xanzs!](http://ramcour.tumblr.com/post/159450171638/gavin-free-ravenclaw-person-fan-art-for-that)


	4. Third Year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin and his friends attempt to have a good year.

Gavin had never really felt insecure about his own family or house. They were hard-working people who lived with the level of comforts that their hard work provided them with and they were ready to accept that. He knew that there were families better off than them because there had to be, he just hadn't really been exposed to any families like that until visited Barbara with Cole and Miles for their week-long stay. On the outside Barbara's house seemed pleasant and yes, a little larger than Gavin's own, but nothing too unreasonable.

The inside, however, had Gavin questioning just how wealthy the Dunkelman family were a lot more. The place was decorated in a manner that could only be described as luxurious with numerous family portraits decorating the entrance including one that was undoubtedly a younger Belinda, a handsome man and a small blonde child that could only be Barbara. “Are you seeing this?” Miles hissed, nodding towards the very same portrait that Gavin's attention was fixed upon.

“We're never going to stop teasing her about this painting, right?” he asked quietly. Miles and Cole both hummed in agreement, even though Gavin was already beginning to wonder if Cole's home had a similar family portrait inside its halls. The Gallians were a relatively wealthy family after all and if they were as pretentious as Cole had made them sound towards the end of their second year than Gavin didn't doubt they would do such a thing.  _He should introduce them to Belinda. They'd probably get along like a house on fire._  He kept that thought to himself, both because he knew it would make both Cole and Barbara uncomfortable but also because Belinda Dunkelman happened to be in the room with them and she still made Gavin feel incredibly uncomfortable for a reason he couldn't quite understand.

Ushered up into the guest room on the third floor, Gavin glanced between the two beds available: a double and a single.  _This bodes well_. “I'll be in the double, you two can fight over who gets to share,” he sighed, throwing his rucksack down onto the larger bed. Had this been a year ago he would have leaped at the chance for a single bed but considering their issues over the past twelve months he knew that putting Cole and Miles that close to each other would be beyond uncomfortable for the both of them.

“Rock, paper, scissors?” Miles suggested after a long moment. Gavin let out the breath he didn't even know he'd been holding as the boys competed and eventually it was decided that Cole would be sharing the bed with him. Miles threw his bag onto the single bed and raised his arms victoriously. “As always, I am the champion!” Neither of the other boys had the heart to correct him.

It was somewhat strange seeing his friends after almost a month away from each other because they had both changed in little ways. Cole had grown several inches in height until he was now quite clearly the tallest in the group and Miles’ voice had deepened somewhat. Gavin on the other hand couldn’t notice any real changes to himself as he stared into the overly decorated mirror in their temporary bedroom. He supposed that he was perhaps just a late bloomer and he was hardly going to be the only one too.

Gavin's unease towards Babara's mother only continued when they were all seated to dinner around a long table in the dining room. The only adult in the room was Belinda herself and with no mention of where Barbara’s father might be, Gavin couldn't help but wonder exactly what kind of upbringing Barbara had. It wasn't as if he presumed she had a bad life because there wasn't a father present, he just couldn't help but wonder if him being absent was more than just a one-time thing. He couldn't quite recall Barbara ever mentioning her father either - but then again she also hadn’t exactly opened up when talking about her mother. 

 _What is it with friends and parental issues? Ryan, Cole, Barbara... I should consider myself lucky_. Thinking about it, Gavin really did. He couldn't imagine dreading the thought of going home the way Barbara and Cole had towards the end of their second year. As for Ryan… well, they had pointedly avoided talking about his dad since the older boy had all but confirmed that James Haywood the Second - a name that Gavin was never going to get over because it sounded so _ridiculous_ \- was a believer in pureblood superiority. The thought always made Gavin shiver in disgust and although he knew his friend didn’t share his father’s morals it was still uncomfortable to even think about.

“So, boys,” Belinda started, staring at each of them in turn with a piercing glare, “Barbara has told me so little about you all. I can’t help but be _curious_ about why my daughter’s surrounded herself with three boys and no girls.” Every word that came out of the woman’s mouth felt like it was loaded with some hidden meaning and it made Gavin squirm in his seat. A glance over at Barbara confirmed that he wasn’t the only one uncomfortable either and he was beginning to understand precisely why Barbara had never really spoken about them at length with her mother.

Her gaze settled on Cole first and Gavin silently thanked Merlin and whoever else he could think of that he wasn’t the first to be called upon. “Um, I’m Cole?” the boy introduced himself, his face flushing uncharacteristically red. Gavin couldn’t remember ever seeing his friend look so embarrassed before. “I was a reserve for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team last year. Played two out of three games anyway.”

As predicted, that caught Belinda’s interest and her shiny red lips spread into a far more natural smile. “A Quidditch player, eh? I presume you’ll be trying out for the team again next year?” she questioned.

Cole shook his head eagerly. “Yes ma’am.”

“You should get Barbara to try out with you,” she suggested, turning her sharp gaze towards her daughter, “She’s a much better player than she lets on.” Without even missing a beat, she turned her attention towards Miles. “And you? Do you like Quidditch?”

It came as quite a surprise to Gavin to see that Miles wasn’t quite as flushed as Cole had been, nor did he appear nervous. His face remained entirely neutral as he gave a single nod and replied, “I tried out for the team last year but didn’t make it. Our team had some pretty bad luck before the last game though so I got to play.” Then, as if pre-empting her next question, he added: “I’ll be trying out for the team this year too. I’m hoping to at least make the reserves.”

After a moment Belinda nodded and turned towards Gavin. Her piercing glare felt like it was seeing straight through Gavin’s brain and into his skull, reading his every terrified thought. Did she know just how uncomfortable he felt around her? He was certainly doing his very best to hide it from his face but then again he’d never been the greatest actor. “A fan, yeah. I haven’t tried out though,” he told her once he’d summed up all of his courage, trying to appear as casual as Miles had and still managing to fall short.

“Gavin’s a Muggle-born. He didn’t even know what Quidditch was until two years ago,” Cole pitched in. Gavin knew he was only trying to be helpful but he still wished that his friend had kept quiet because he’d managed to develop something of a sore spot for parents discovering he wasn’t a pureblood or even half-blood wizard.

“My husband’s a Muggle-born,” Belinda declared suddenly. In the corner of his eye Gavin caught sight of Barbara starting to fidget with her clothes. “He decided to work for a bank in the end. Said he found numbers came much easier to him than magic! Merlin’s beard, I love him but the man can be such a _bore_ ,” she continued, chuckling to herself. Gavin’s mind was already busy putting the pieces together, understanding how the family could afford such a nice house and quite possibly why Mr Dunkelman was absent from the dinner table.

“Is that where he is tonight?” Miles asked, surprising Gavin once again with how forward he was being.

“No, no - he’ll be out gambling, I imagine,” she replied, waving a hand dismissively and apparently totally unaware of the fact that her daughter’s stony gaze was fixed firmly on the plate before her. “Always looking for ways to win even more, that man. Loves money more than either of us, that’s for sure!” Barbara was so still that Gavin felt like it would have been fair to guess that she had been petrified by a basilisk or frozen by a spell.

Belinda continued to lead the conversation throughout the rest of the dinner, questioning each of the boys on their other interests and their grades in class. She even asked them if any of them had girlfriends or - rather embarrassingly, Gavin found - if any of them wanted to date her daughter. By the time the final course had been collected by the family house elf Barbara looked ready to scream and Gavin couldn’t really blame her. A simple dinner with her mother did enough to explain to him exactly why Barbara never talked about her family.

Once again Gavin found himself thankful that his home life was relatively average in comparison.

 

_\- RT -_

 

“That looks dull,” Miles declared, glancing over Gavin’s shoulder to inspect the copy of _Ancient Runes Made Easy_ that he was reading from. Choosing his electives had been a hard decision for Gavin but eventually he had settled on Ancient Runes and Divination. Miles, on the other hand, had chosen Muggle Studies and Care of Magical Creatures - the latter of which he’d hardly stopped raving about in excitement all summer. Thankfully Gavin wouldn’t be alone in either of his subjects - Barbara had opted for Divination and Care of Magical Creatures while Cole had decided on Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. He hadn’t had the time to check up on what Jeremy had chosen but he couldn’t help but hope that they at least had one lesson in common. They had already established themselves as a pretty good working unit and he was hoping the Ravenclaw and Slytherins were paired up in lessons more to continue that.

“It’s actually rather interesting, thank you,” Gavin huffed in return, pulling his book closer to him. Miles grinned, enjoying the tease as he always did, before pulling back to unload some more Every-Flavour Beans in his mouth.

Their journey on the Hogwarts Express for the start of their third year was running much smoother than it had the year before. The four of them were sat in a compartment of their own, all either snacking on the sweets that Miles’ mother had gifted them with on the platform before their departure or preparing for their new classes. It was precisely the peaceful start that Gavin had been hoping for, especially since their stay at the Dunkelman home had smoothed over the last few wrinkles in Cole and Miles’ friendship.

“I’ve got an idea,” Barbara announced suddenly, snapping her copy of _A Standard Book of Spells, Vol. III_ shut. The boys all glanced across at her and Gavin quirked an eyebrow. “We should have a competition of our own this year.”

“What kind of competition?” Cole asked, voice laced with curiosity.

“Whoever gets the least amount of house points has to host the next summer get together,” she explained with a confident smile before adding: “And the winner is brought a prize by the other three, of course.” The way she spoke made it seem almost like an afterthought compared to the loser’s punishment.

Overall it wasn’t exactly the most offensive idea Gavin had heard but he couldn’t help but feel a little perplexed. What exactly had brought on an idea like that? “Sounds simple enough,” he mumbled finally, “I guess I’m in.”

“I don’t see why not,” Cole agreed, shrugging his shoulders.

Miles just groaned and threw his hands up in the air. Gavin knew precisely why without the other boy having to say anything - in both previous years Miles had been notoriously overlooked when it came to teachers gifting points and it was highly likely he’d find himself in last place. “You guys aren’t even going to let me say no, are you?” he lamented, shaking his head in dismay. “Fine, I’m in. I hate you all.”

Their agreement brought a happy smile to Barbara’s face and considering how miserable she had been during their stay at her house Gavin was glad to see it. Besides, with the promise of a competition between them going on throughout the year, Gavin had strangely high hopes for what was to come for once.

 

_\- RT -_

 

All of the third year elective classes were mixed between the houses, meaning Gavin had the rare opportunity to spend time with not only Barbara but also Kdin from Slytherin, Kerry from Gryffindor and Chris from Hufflepuff while they were in Divination class. The two boys seemed strangely intimidated by Barbara but Gavin chose to brush it off and instead did his best to hide his disappointment that Jeremy hadn’t turned up with Kdin and the rest of the Slytherin students.

Professor Scarlatina was a strange woman with her Australian accent and constant declarations of her admiration for the signs they could find in tea leaves but nice enough that Gavin didn’t feel like he’d made the wrong choice. It was clear that she was passionate about her subject and that was all that any of them could really ask for from a teacher really. She was younger than a good majority of the staff too, likely only in her twenties, but she spoke so fluently about the number of things they would study in her subject that there was no doubt in the room that she was anything less than an expert in Divination.

Jeremy wasn’t in Ancient Runes either but that quickly became the least of Gavin’s worries when he discovered exactly what kind of teacher Professor Schnee was. There had been whisperings among the boys at the start of the lesson about how beautiful she was with her long silver hair and ice-blue robes but that chattering was quickly silenced when she announced in a sharp voice that she had prepared a seating plan for them and expected them to adhere to it every lesson.

Much to Gavin’s dismay he found himself sat at a table with Michael Jones, one of Blaine’s Gryffindor flunkies who he had previously sat next to in Defence Against the Dark Arts for a number of lessons the previous year when Cole had opted to take Michael’s seat next to Blaine. The other boy didn’t seem overly thrilled with the arrangement either, his lips drawn into a thin line as he stiffly nodded his head in greeting. It took a considerable amount of effort to nod back and Gavin wasn’t overly proud of that. He was well aware of the fact that his relationship with Blaine had somewhat soured him towards the whole of Gryffindor which wasn’t exactly fair but he couldn’t help himself. Aside from Kerry every other Gryffindor he had met had been a little too obnoxious for his liking.

Their first Ancient Runes lesson was spent learning all of Professor Schnee’s rules and expectations for them, including that they were to work in complete silence or face detention with her. That left a sour taste in Gavin’s mouth and he found himself strangely wishing that he could talk to Michael of all people because he’d never been good at keeping himself quiet or sticking to teacher’s rules. It was why he’d been so happy that the majority of his teachers at Hogwarts were relatively laidback. Apparently his luck had run out on that front.

By the end of the lesson Gavin hurried to join Cole in his escape from the room and didn’t so much as grunt a goodbye in Michael’s direction. He was pretty sure the other boy didn’t mind all that much although guessing what went on inside a Gryffindor’s head would be a magic trick all of its very own.

“I was sat with Stan Lewis and I’m pretty sure he’s the only reason I’m going to make it through his class. Apparently his dad works with runes at the ministry so he’s already like an expert,” the other boy exclaimed as they fled out into the corridors. Gavin merely groaned. Of course Cole found himself sat next to somebody who would be helpful in the subject while he had to suffer in silence next to a dunderhead like Michael Jones.

“Can I polyjuice into you for that class then?” Gavin huffed, shaking his head. “I’m pretty sure the universe is expecting me to be friends with _Michael Jones_ of all people or it wouldn’t keep throwing us together.”

“Michael’s not that bad,” Cole replied after a small moment of hesitation. “He seems pretty scary at first and I’m fairly sure he hates my guts but he’s not quite as full of himself as Blaine or Kyle.” Cole didn’t often speak about his year hanging out with the Gryffindor boys which Gavin was relatively thankful for considering the issues it would likely cause with Miles so his declaration came as something of a surprise. Despite that it didn’t fill Gavin with many happy feelings either because no matter what Cole said he couldn’t see himself ever getting along with the other boy. _Universe be damned._

“I’ll tell you what though, I don’t feel quite so confident about my house point total anymore,” Gavin sighed. Something told him Professor Schnee was the type to take points away quite happily if they broke any of her precious rules and no doubt Gavin would fall into that trap. Cole hummed in agreement, quite probably realizing the same thing. Suddenly the race not to be in fourth place between them and Miles felt a lot closer than they wanted it to be.

 

_\- RT -_

 

A buzz shot around Ravenclaw Tower when the date for the annual Quidditch try-outs was pinned to the house notice board and even Gavin felt it. There had been rumours and whispers about when the try-outs might take place for days but now they finally had the date it was all anybody could really talk about.

“You were practicing with that Slytherin friend of yours last year, weren’t you?” Ryan asked as he caught Gavin staring at the piece of parchment proudly declaring the date to be that very Friday. It caught the third-year boy off guard and he found himself quickly trying to force his brain to catch up and realize that Ryan was referring to Jeremy.

“Uh, yeah. They helped,” Gavin mumbled, feeling a little flustered. There was really no denying that those flying lessons with the other boy had made him feel a lot more confident on a broom which was something he’d been working towards for over a year. “A lot, really. I was pretty tragic when I first got onto a broom.”

Ryan grinned and clapped him on the shoulder. “Trust me, so was I. Took me a while to find my footing,” he explained, shrugging his shoulders that seemed broader than ever. In fact, now that he was up close Gavin could even spy the first bit of stubble beginning to decorate Ryan’s strong jawline. “You think you’ll try out for the team?”

It was a question Gavin had put a lot of thought into over the past few months. He couldn’t deny that he had something of a bug for flying now but he wasn’t sure he was quite ready for competitive Quidditch. “I’m not sure,” he confessed. There was no way he’d be able to live up to people like Ryan or Cole, or even Miles who had more than proven himself during that last game against Gryffindor in their second year.

“You should go for it!” the older boy enthused. “I mean, what’s the harm in trying, right?” Ryan had a fair point but Gavin had quickly come to realize that his friend made a lot of sense more often than not. He was certainly wiser than his years and not nearly as intimidating as the reputation that preceded him suggested he was. Gavin understood now that a lot of it was to do with the fact that Ryan came from an old money pureblood family but he struggled to see the frowning and menacing moody young teenager that some people wanted to believe Ryan was. The truth was that he was nothing like that at all and Gavin was certainly thankful for it or they most definitely wouldn’t have been friends at all.

“We’ll see. Maybe I’ll give it a go,” he sighed after a moment before laughing gently. He could only imagine how competitive things at the try-outs would get and he’d probably be totally out of his depth but it would still be fun, wouldn’t it? “I’m not making any promises though.”

Ryan beamed at him and reached up to ruffle his hair, provoking a surprised squawk from Gavin’s lips. He hadn’t even known that he’d been capable of making such a sound and blushed deep red almost immediately. Ryan just laughed, warm and hearty, and somehow Gavin managed not to feel like it was at his misfortune. _Guess he’s just good at that._

Then again, what wasn’t Ryan good at?

 

_\- RT -_

 

It turned out that Quidditch try-outs were even more brutal than Gavin had anticipated them being. His lessons with Jeremy had hardly prepared him for the tricks that the Quidditch Captain expected them to perform on demand, nor the speeds at which they were required to fly. Still, Gavin wasn't one to back down from a challenge and he was appreciating the opportunity to fly anyway so he was going to have as much fun with it as he possibly could.

While he was circling the pitch for what felt like the hundredth time, Gavin spied a couple familiar faces sat in the Ravenclaw stands below: Barbara, Mica and Jeremy. He was moving far too fast to have any sort of communication with them but the sight of his friends filled him with confidence and he pushed forward, shooting past a second-year boy who had been running his mouth about how good at flying he was before any of them had even climbed onto their brooms.

The previous year it had taken days for the Captain to decide on his team but he seemed to have already made up his mind by the time they all made their way back into the locker room to change into their ordinary robes. "Okay, listen up!" he boomed, pulling the entire room into tense silence. "I've gotta say that I'm a little disappointed. Those of you who make the team have a lot of work ahead of you." Considering Gavin didn't exactly have high hopes for himself he was decidedly not worried but he could tell just from a quick glance at their faces that both Cole and Miles looked as if they were undergoing the most stressful moments of their lives.

"My team for this year: Haywood, Keeper!" Ryan's reaction was fairly restrained, merely a small smile and a nod of his head. Gavin couldn't help but grin, even if he wasn't overly surprised. Ryan had been the best Keeper to try out by a long mile. "Chasers are myself, Jules and Gallian!" Cole let out a sigh of relief and turned to celebrate with Miles before he realized that his friend was staring intently at the ground. Gavin's heart sunk as he realized what that meant - Miles had missed out on a place on the team for the second year running. Honestly Gavin wasn't even that concerned about missing out a place himself, he empathized with his friend much more.

"Beaters: Haddock and Luna!" the Captain declared, sparking a number of whispers throughout the room. Miles glanced up, eyes wide as he looked from Cole to Gavin and across to Gray Haddock, his fellow beater. That had certainly been an unexpected call but judging from the smile slowly spreading across Miles' face it wasn't a totally unwelcome one. "And our Seeker is Turney," he concluded, eyes darting to where Meg was stood next to Ryan. She let out a small yelp of surprise and quickly embraced Ryan who seemed far happier for her than he had been for himself.

An understandable amount of disgruntled mutterings began to circulate the room from the unlucky ones but Gavin didn't have any time for that, he was already busy pulling Cole and Miles into a group hug. This was definitely a vast improvement for them both over the year they'd had before.  _The Quidditch drama is over, hallelujah._  It had been a small worry of his that the results of the try-outs would cause new issues between the other two boys but thankfully both ending up on the team avoided that completely.

"We have three reserves too - Hagan, Blake and Free," the Captain added once the muttering had quietened back down. Gavin's heart skipped a beat as he realized that  _he_  was the 'Free' the Captain had referred to. Hands clapped down on his shoulder, no doubt from Miles, but all Gavin could think about was the fact that a number of angry and jealous eyes had turned in his direction. Somehow despite the fact he was one of the least experienced flyers to try out, he had made the reserve team!  _This has to be a dream, right?_  He hadn't even thought about making the reserve team because it seemed like such a long shot but now he'd made it and he had absolutely no idea how to deal with that news. Ryan was beaming at him from across the room and this all seemed for too surreal to possibly be happening. Against all odds he was somehow in with a shot of playing on Ravenclaw's Quidditch team that year.

After a moment a single thought began to creep into his mind:  _Merlin's beard, what have I gotten myself into?_

 

_\- RT -_

 

The start of Gavin's third year was so busy that it was almost a full three weeks in before he was able to have a conversation with Jeremy that lasted more than a few short sentences whispered to each other in the middle of Potions lessons. All of their teachers had apparently decided that the training wheels had come off and they were going to be pushing the third years much harder than they had throughout their first two years at the school. Hardest of all was Ancient Runes, just as Gavin had predicted. Professor Schnee was a hard taskmaster and set them more than a fair share of homework every single lesson that kept Gavin perpetually busy.

As Jeremy threw himself down opposite him on the Ravenclaw table one late September morning, Gavin's face lit up with a bright smile. He had been one of the first people in the great hall because he still needed to finish off the latest piece of Ancient Runes homework before he was forced to face Professor Schnee's wrath in his first lesson of the day. "I'm starting to think that you're ignoring me," the other boy huffed, his lips spread into a wide grin that Gavin couldn't help but echo back at him.

"Hey,  _you're_  the one that's been hiding," he retorted, continuing to scribble his notes down onto the parchment. His breakfast had long since been forgotten in favour of completing the work but Jeremy was a welcome distraction. He was almost done anyway. "How'd your Quidditch try-outs go?" Jeremy had confided in him the previous year that he was planning to try his luck for a place on the Slytherin Quidditch team and knowing how experienced of a flyer his friend was Gavin felt fairly confident for him.

Sure enough, Jeremy's face lit up in a bright smile. "Say hello to Slytherin's new Beater!" he replied, practically bouncing in excitement as he began loading up his plate with a variety of breakfast food. "What about you? A little birdie told me you were thinking of trying out." Gavin was pretty sure that particular 'birdie' was Barbara mentioning it in conversation with Mica who then passed it along to Jeremy. It would certainly explain why the three of them had been together at the try-outs.

"Don't try and pretend like you weren't there, I saw you!" Gavin fired back, laughing softly. The truth was that he appreciated his friend showing up to support him because Jeremy had been crucial in getting him back onto a broom in the first place. "I made the reserves which is more than I ever expected."

Jeremy's face split into one of those brilliant smiles that radiated throughout Gavin's body and made his heart skip a beat. Somehow Jeremy's approval felt more important to him than anyone's, even more so than Ryan's who he looked at like a mentor. He wanted his friend to be proud of him and the fact he'd gone from almost incapable of flying to making the Ravenclaw Quidditch reserves was insane to even consider. "Good job, buddy!" the other boy exclaimed, reaching across the table to slap him on the shoulder. "I knew you could do it."

Truth be told Gavin wasn't really expecting to get the opportunity to play Quidditch at all that year but as a reserve he'd still be attending all of their weekly practices and spending more time on a broom than he had the previous year. Maybe in his fourth year he'd stand a better shot but this was more than enough for now. He'd still get to spend more time with Cole and Miles, he just wished that Barbara would be joining them but he supposed that he could understand why she chose not to. Growing up under somebody like Belinda who so clearly pushed her daughter to be a copy like her couldn't be easy and it was no surprise that Barbara was so desperate to get out of the shadow of "Ravenclaw's most successful Seeker" as Cole had once called her.

"Guess we don't need those lessons anymore, huh?" Jeremy continued, a fond smile on his face as he munched through a bowl of cereal. "I mean, we are  _competition_  now." If there had been any malice in the other's voice Gavin might have been worried but this was Jeremy he was talking to and he wasn't sure the other boy knew how to be hurtful at all. The reputation of Slytherins being cold and calculating didn't seem to apply to Jeremy or any of his friends as far as Gavin was concerned because they'd all - even Mica who seemed much quicker to judge than the rest - accepted him quite happily without even caring about his blood heritage or magic ability.

"I hope you know Ravenclaw's going to kick your arse this year," Gavin retorted, winking at the other boy after he'd finished writing his final sentence. Rolling up the parchment and tucking it into his bag, he let out a sigh of relief. "Winners of the House Cup and Quidditch Cup, I'm calling it now." This was their year, he could feel it in his bones. Everything was going right for once and Gavin was more than happy to ride that all the way to total success.

"You're up early," a deep voice declared from beside him as Ryan joined them at the table. The older boy's smile faltered somewhat as he nodded stiffly towards Jeremy in greeting. "Dooley. Shouldn't you be at the Slytherin table?" The question seemed so unlike something Ryan would say that Gavin's mouth fell open. It wasn't as if Ryan was being  _rude_ , it was just far more blunt than he was expecting from somebody that he had only ever known to be warm and friendly. He wasn't the only one caught off guard either - Jeremy had paled somewhat as he stared with wide eyes at the fifth-year boy.

"I didn't realize there were rules stopping us from sitting at other tables," Jeremy replied, somewhat meekly. Gavin agreed with him, it wasn't a rule he'd ever heard of before and he'd definitely seen older years sitting at house tables other than their own. The teachers had certainly never commented on it before.

Ryan quirked an eyebrow as he stared back at Jeremy, his gaze steely and unforgiving. "I'm sure your friends will be along to keep you company soon," he said, lips pulling up into a thin smile. Gavin honestly couldn't believe what he was seeing and hearing.  _Who is this and what has he done with Ryan?_  

Rather than argue back, Jeremy glanced uncertainly towards Gavin before rising to his feet. "I'll see you later, Gav," the other boy murmured as he hurried out of the great hall, the emerald green trim of his robes trailing behind him. Gavin felt incredibly guilty as he watched him disappear out of the large castle doors and immediately spun around to confront the older boy.

"What the hell was that about?" he demanded, glaring at Ryan with far more confidence than he expected of himself considering how much bigger and stronger the fifth-year was. "That was... dick-ish!" Gavin would never have dreamed of calling one of his friends a dick even if they deserved it but the older boy's attack on Jeremy had been so uncalled for that he felt like he had to say  _something_  to defend the Slytherin boy.

Ryan hardly even blinked at the remark. "Stick to your friends in Ravenclaw. Fraternizing with the other houses never ends well," the older boy advised, seemingly uncaring of the awkward situation he'd just caused, "Trust me on this one. He's not worth it."

Gavin stared blankly at the other boy, suddenly questioning every kind thought he'd had about the other. What the hell was Ryan's problem with making friends in other houses and why was he so hostile about it?  _There's a story there_ , he realized,  _A story I'm not sure I even want to find out_. Previously he'd thought Ryan was a picture of perfection and the kind of student he should aspire to be. Now though... well, now he just had a lot more questions he probably wasn't going to be getting answers to any time soon.

 

_\- RT -_

 

Things weren't exactly ruined between Gavin and Jeremy after that but they certainly felt uncomfortable. They both avoided bringing it up in conversation the next time they got to exchange a few words in Potions and it felt like the elephant in the room that they just weren't discussing. Gavin's relationship with Ryan was similarly strained too as he found himself noticing far more similarities between the older boy and his father who had so happily regarded Gavin with distaste when he'd discovered that he was a Muggle-born. Maybe Ryan didn't care about blood purity but he clearly had prejudices of his own.

Quidditch practice was a rough ordeal but it was a stress that Gavin was strangely thankful for. The Captain was just as hard on his reserves as he was on the main team and even though he was pretty sure he'd end up pulling every muscle in his body by the end of the year it was easily miles more fun than any other workout Gavin had done in his life. Every time he climbed on a broom he felt a little more confident and ready to accept the challenge of competing. Maybe it wouldn't happen at all that year but he at least didn't feel like he'd be a colossal failure.

After the stress of their third year lessons continued to build, the prospect of visiting Hogsmeade in early November was a welcome thought. Gavin's parents had signed the permission slip without hesitation when he'd told them that the school allowed them to visit the nearby village a weekend every few months. As much as Gavin loved Hogwarts he was rather looking forward to exploring more of the magical world outside of the castle’s grounds and his brief visits to Diagon Alley before the start of every school year.

Just as things were looking up for them though, another roadblock appeared to stall their progress and Barbara announced that she wouldn’t be joining them in their Hogsmeade trip. “My mother would only sign the form if I made the Quidditch team,” she explained, every word dripping with a surprising amount of venom. “So go figure, no Hogsmeade for me.”

Gavin was utterly boggled by the revelation. Was Belinda Dunkelman really that cruel that she wouldn’t let Barbara go to Hogsmeade simply because she refused to play Quidditch? “She can’t do that!” Miles gasped, echoing Gavin’s thoughts.

“That’s blackmail,” Cole added, sounding totally aghast. Gavin nodded quickly in agreement, feeling his disdain for Barbara’s mother rising by the second. Her mission to make sure Barbara followed her footsteps was edging along the level of abusive and it left him worried. Why wouldn’t her father sign it instead? Surely he couldn’t think that Belinda’s ultimatum was actually rational.

“You should tell one of the teachers,” Gavin suggested, “I’m sure Professor Ozpin would let you go if he knew!”

Barbara shook her head and let out a sigh that was layered down with a weariness that said she’d already thought of everything they had to say. “It’s fine. Whatever. I don’t even really care,” she huffed, making Gavin believe she cared a whole lot more than she claimed to. “I have to catch up on History of Magic work anyway.”

Okay, if that wasn’t a warning sign then Gavin didn’t know what was. Nobody - absolutely _nobody_ \- chose to do their History of Magic homework if they could avoid it. Professor Watts was so busy talking about himself and his own experiences during great historical events like both wars against Voldemort and the Death Eaters that he never bothered to collect their homework in anyway.

“There’s got to be a way we can sneak you in,” Miles muttered, beginning to pace around the circular common room. “Maybe we can polyjuice you or something. Do you think they’d notice if there were two Gavins?”

“With that nose? Definitely,” Cole replied without missing a beat, provoking a loud squawk from Gavin. It at least earned a small smile from Barbara so that was something to take as a victory, no matter how small.

By the time they actually left the castle and climbed into the Thestral-pulled carriages by the school gates Gavin couldn’t help but feel guilty for leaving Barbara behind. He desperately wished there was a way for them to bring her along with them but talking some sense into Belinda seemed like an impossible task. He knew it wasn’t exactly his place either but he couldn’t help but feel like something needed to be said sooner rather than later. Barbara was growing increasingly more miserable and Gavin honestly had no idea what she would be like after spending Christmas back with her mother. There had to be a breaking point somewhere and he was worrying that it was fast approaching.

Thankfully by the time they reached Hogsmeade Gavin was suitably distracted. There were a number of things to see and he delighted in every experience, from buying countless sweets in Honeydukes to checking out the brand new Quidditch gear being stocked in Spintwitches Sporting Needs. The town was covered in a light dusting of snow that made every building look so picturesque and there was so much magic lingering in the air that Gavin almost didn’t want to leave at all.

They found themselves inside the Three Broomsticks shortly after three, all holding their very first butterbeers when they spied their Slytherin friends sat in a booth with plenty of space for the rest of them. Gavin didn’t think anything about approaching them until they were already up at the booth and Jeremy met his gaze with the most neutral expression he had ever seen on the other boy’s face instead of the smile he’d been expecting.

“Where’s Barbara?” Mica asked before the three boys had even had the chance to properly settle down in the booth. They quickly filled her in and were shocked by a rather expletive-filled rant from the Slytherin girl as a result. “She can’t do that! It’s-- it’s inhumane!” By this point though Mica was merely preaching to the choir. They were just as outraged at Belinda’s decision as she was but there was nothing they could do about it without potentially making Barbara’s home life worse and none of them wanted to be responsible for that.

“How’s that competition of yours going?” Kdin asked, setting her butterbeer back down on the round wooden table. She quirked an eyebrow as her gaze drifted along all three boys while they shared panicked expressions.

“Barb’s winning,” Cole sighed, surprising absolutely nobody. “I’m second, Gavin third--”

“And I, of course, am in last!” Miles cut in, faking a bow. A ripple of laughter passed around the table which Gavin wasn’t sure was entirely deserved. Miles was a lot more intelligent than he ever gave himself credit for, he just didn’t like to draw attention to the fact that he actually had a working brain. Why exactly that was Gavin had absolutely no idea but he hoped that it was something his friend would grow out of eventually. Where was the fun in making people believe you were stupid and careless when you really weren’t?

The conversation spiralled on from there, each of them offering their own opinions as the talk moved from topic to topic in the easy way they had developed over the past two years. Indeed things were moving so smoothly that it took Gavin almost ten minutes to realize that Jeremy had hardly looked in his direction once. He couldn’t help but feel there might be some reason for that and it made him feel uneasy because he hated the thought he might have upset a close friend and have absolutely no idea what he’d done.

“Hey Jeremy, how’s practice going?” he asked, testing his theory. Jeremy glanced up at him in surprise before shrugging his surprisingly broad shoulders and grunting. It wasn’t much of a response and Gavin felt disappointed that he hadn’t gotten more. He wasn’t the only one to notice either - Cole and Miles exchanged confused glances and even Lindsay and Trevor seemed troubled by their friend’s lack of reply.

After the awkward moment passed the conversation seemed to slow although Gavin hardly noticed. He was busy watching Jeremy, wondering why the other boy was so intently avoiding looking in his direction. _Looks like you’ve definitely done something wrong, Free,_ he told himself, mentally cursing his own cluelessness. It had to be bad if the other boy could hardly even look at him.

“I’m going to get us some more drinks,” Trevor declared, grabbing Kdin by the wrist and pulling her with him. Lindsay murmured in agreement, pulling Cole with her until it was only Gavin, Jeremy, Miles and Mica left in the booth. Gavin glanced around curiously at the rest of them before Mica abruptly stood up.

“We should go help them with the drinks,” she decided, giving Miles a very pointed look. The boy frowned, blinking in confusion, but he apparently didn’t have much room to argue considering he was very quickly being pulled away by the arm, leaving Gavin alone with Jeremy in the booth.

The silence that followed in the next few sentences was deafening. The air seemed so much thicker than it should have been as Gavin struggled to find the words to carefully approach the topic he was now so concerned about. Jeremy apparently had no plans of talking, continuing to stare into the empty glass of his last butterbeer as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

Clearing his throat, Gavin pulled all of his courage together and forced himself to start forming words, no matter whether or not they were the right ones to say. “So, um, how badly did I mess up?” he blurted out, face heating up within seconds.

Jeremy finally glanced up, his lips pulled into a thin line as he stared across the table at the other boy. “Mess up?” he asked.

Gavin blinked. Was he not being clear enough? “I mean, yeah? You don’t want to look at me so… I messed up, right?” he asked, legs shaking as he did his best not to get up and run away altogether. He’d never been good at uncomfortable discussions like this.

“No, you’re fine, it’s nothing,” the other boy replied, waving a dismissive hand as he returned to staring intently at the glass mug before him. The action didn’t exactly fill Gavin with much confidence that everything really was as _fine_ as Jeremy claimed it to be.

“Was it-- this isn’t because of what Ryan said, is it?” he probed, thinking back to that awkward discussion at the Ravenclaw table over breakfast. Ryan had been out of order and even though Gavin had confronted him afterwards he still felt uneasy just thinking about how much Ryan disapproved of him being friends with students from other houses. Why did that even matter?

A look of genuine anger flashed over Jeremy’s face for a moment but it was quickly replaced by something far closer to sadness and it began to tug on Gavin’s heartstrings. He knew immediately that Ryan had been the cause of whatever issue they were struggling through and he found himself surprisingly angry towards the older Ravenclaw. “Gavin, just drop it,” the other boy huffed, folding his arms and turning his head even further away.

“Jeremy, come on… You don’t think I _agree_ with him, do you?”

“Well you didn’t argue back!” The words were spat out and caught Gavin totally off guard, sending him rigid in his seat. He’d never anticipated having Jeremy snap at him and he already knew that he hated it and never wanted it to happen again. “You just let him say it and then waited for me to leave!”

Gavin honestly couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Did Jeremy honestly think that he had taken Ryan’s side on the issue? “I sit at the Slytherin table all the time,” he pointed out, frowning in confusion. “What makes you think I’d have issues if you sat at my table?” There was no immediate reply but Jeremy’s expression didn’t soften either and that troubled him even more. “I told him he was being a dick after you left. I’m sorry he said that but no, I don’t agree and I’m actually a little hurt you thought I would.”

Tense silence followed the seconds after that and Gavin was sure as hell glad that none of their friends had decided to make another appearance because he was pretty sure that if he and Jeremy didn’t sort things out then and there then it would spiral into a much bigger issue.

“I didn’t-- It’s not that, I just… I wanted you to stand up for me,” Jeremy replied after a long moment, practically murmuring to the point that Gavin wasn’t totally sure he’d heard him clearly. “I just presumed you would and you didn’t. It sucked.”

Gavin felt like he had the wind knocked out of him. It was his inaction that had made Jeremy miserable and he had to admit that he should have jumped straight to the other’s defence as Jeremy probably would have if an older Slytherin had said the same to him. “I did defend you! I was just shocked, okay? I didn’t expect it from him,” he confessed, cheeks flushing with colour as his temperature rose. “That’s not the kind of guy Ryan is.” He’d felt so certain of that at first but now he wasn’t even sure he understood who Ryan was at all considering he was clearly hiding secrets.

“He’s never liked me,” Jeremy pointed out, “Even in first year he was a dick to me. What, does he think that I’m only friends with you so I can sabotage the Quidditch team or something?” There was a real angle of insecurity in the other’s voice and Gavin hated it. More importantly he hated that he was partially responsible for it.

“I’m sorry, okay?” he muttered, wiping at his eyes. Gavin wasn’t sure when he’d started to get emotional but he certainly felt a lot more vulnerable and open than he had just a few minutes before. “You’re my friend, you know that. I should have stood up to him earlier and I’m sorry I didn’t but just because he says we shouldn’t be friends doesn’t mean I’m going to listen, okay?”

Jeremy held his gaze for a long time and Gavin had to fight himself back from having further emotional reactions. This was a stupid disagreement and it wasn’t worth the tears but he was going to work through it and make sure it was resolved so they could go back to being friends. The last thing he wanted was for this to leave a permanent mark on their relationship.

Finally the other boy reached over and grabbed his hand. Gavin didn’t fight it, nor did he think there was anything wrong with it. If anything he welcomed the contact and the sign of acceptance from the other that it represented.

“You’re good people, Gavin Free,” the other boy said in a quiet voice. “Not perfect, but hey, who is?” That had quickly become clear now that he’d started to see more shades of Ryan that he hadn’t quite realized before. For now though Jeremy was the priority and thoughts of Ryan were quickly discarded.

Gavin beamed back at Jeremy, squeezing his hand a little tighter as a sign of support. “I’ll settle for good.”

 

_\- RT -_

 

The first Quidditch game of the year came and went without Gavin getting the opportunity to step onto the pitch but he didn't mind all that much when Ravenclaw claimed a decent victory over Hufflepuff. He cheered right along with the rest of his house every time Cole collaborated with the other chasers to pass the quaffle down the pitch and shoot it straight past the Hufflepuff keeper and into the hoops. He even wooped in delight every time Ryan blocked an attempt at their own hoops, although he couldn't help but notice that Jeremy's reaction was a lot more muted. 

Miles performed admirably as a beater, forming a good partnership with Gray and blocking more than a couple attempts on the Ravenclaw hoops. Gavin wasn't overly surprised at that - he'd seen how quickly his friend had taken to the role during their practices but he was still proud considering how far Miles had come since the try-outs just a year before. Even Mica, the Quidditch snob that she was, had a number of nice things to say about him every time he hit the bludger dangerously close to the Hufflepuff chasers. "Knock him off!" she roared, pumping her fists in the air every time Miles' bat made contact. Her enthusiasm was infectious and made them all laugh at the very least. Mica took Quidditch just as seriously as Cole - perhaps even moreso - but what else could you expect from a girl whose father was a Quidditch pro? It was practically in her blood.

By the time the Christmas period finally rolled around Gavin was thankful for the break from lessons. While he felt fairly safe in admitting that Ancient Runes was kicking his ass thanks to Professor Schnee's unforgiving taskmaster ways, even subjects he'd previously found relatively easy such as Herbology and Charms had begun to climb in difficulty to the point that having an off-day meant a serious hindrance to his learning. "It's all preparation for your OWLs," Professor Port told them as he guided them through several new defensive spells.

"Our OWLs aren't for another two and a half years!" Chris Demarais pointed out meekly. Several others nodded in agreement.

"And you're not worried?" Port challenged in return, a broad smile spreading across his round face. Chris was left looking very confused by the question. Gavin couldn't really blame him - Professor Port was odd at the best of times and everybody knew it. Compared to certain other teachers though he was relatively easy to get along with and Defense Against the Dark Arts was a fun practical subject so it was no wonder that most of the class found it one of the more preferable lessons over something like History of Magic.

As much as he loved Hogwarts, staying there for the Christmas period wasn't something that Gavin had ever really considered before so he was caught off guard when both Barbara and Cole declared that they were going to be spending their winter breaks at the castle instead of going home to their families. Apparently Miles was just as confused as he was by this revelation because he quickly offered to ask his mum if they could join the Luna family for the Christmas period, something that they both assured him wasn't necessary. They wouldn't be the only ones staying at the castle for the period either as Cole quickly rattled off a list of names that included Kerry from Gryffindor, Chris and Matt Bragg from Hufflepuff and Lindsay from Slytherin. Overall it sounded like a rather pleasant bunch of people to be left with but Gavin still ached to see his family and spend some time at home so he was glad that he was getting a short break from the castle.

The Hogsmeade trip in early December had allowed Gavin to buy gifts for all of his friends and yet he still found himself surprised when the morning before he and the others were due to travel back to London via the Hogwarts Express his friends began passing around gifts and he found himself with a small pile in front of him. Mica had given him a small blue broach for his cloak with a bronze eagle adorned on the center, its wings enchanted to flap as if it was really flying. Trevor, Kdin and Lindsay had all bought him small gift bags filled with his favourite sweets from Honeydukes and Miles had Miles had somehow found him a copy of  _Ancient Runes Made Even Easier_  which brought a smile to his face. A quick flick through confirmed that it would certainly help Professor Schnee's lessons a lot easier. Barbara's gift was a long blue cloak with silver decoration that seemed to glow in an ever-changing pattern (she'd also made a point of wishing him Happy Hannukah although she claimed to be rather partial to the gift-giving element of Christmas) while Cole proudly presented him with a copy of  _Quidditch Through the Ages_  that had been signed by a chaser from the Holyhead Harpies, the Quidditch team he'd been encouraged to start supporting by his friends.

Out of them all though it was Jeremy's gift that meant the most to him - it was a drawing, clearly of him with his wild brown hair and larger nose (which Gavin was glad to see Jeremy hadn't made too comically large) on top of a broomstick and his friend had enchanted it so that Gavin's drawing counterpart flew above and around what looked like the Grand Canyon. The other boy flashed a shy smile, his cheeks flushing with colour as he waited for a response and once he'd inspected it carefully Gavin just beamed. It didn't matter to him that it hadn't cost as much or Mica's broach or been as helpful as Miles' book because it was the thought that counted and his friend had clearly put a lot of thought in. 

"This is amazing!" he gasped, his cheeks beginning to hurt from grinning so widely, "Thanks Jeremy! Seriously, this is... it's great! I love it." The reassurance brought a look of relief onto the other boy's face and Gavin found himself unable to look away, even as quiet giggles began circulating around their friendship group. Suddenly his gift of a glass snake that changed between green and silver every day seemed to pale in comparison. It didn't seem nearly as personal but Jeremy still seemed to like it, his face lighting up like a Christmas tree as he carefully unwrapped it. It warmed Gavin's heart in ways that he couldn't even understand but it was a smile that he was definitely all too happy to see.

 

_\- RT -_

 

The January term started a lot slower than September had but Gavin was rather thankful for that considering how well-rested he felt after two weeks at home with his family. Being thrown back in at the deep end would have been quite a shock to the system and even in Ancient Runes he didn't feel like he was drowning too badly thanks to Miles' thoughtful Christmas gift. He'd spent a good portion of his break reading  _Ancient Runes Made Even Easier_  and he had to admit that the title really wasn't a lie. Cole was already asking to borrow it from him, even though he had the help of runes-expert Stan Lewis sat next to him.

Even Barbara seemed a lot calmer now that the New Year had rolled around and Gavin had to wonder whether that was to do with the fact that she hadn't been forced to spend time with her mother. It was clear that there were things going on behind closed doors with the Dunkelman family but he didn't want to push his luck too much by asking when it was such a sore spot still. 

While the spring term began moving on and January crept into February, Gavin couldn't help but notice that he and Ryan were talking far less. He wouldn't deny that he was still holding on to some bitterness over the older boy's comments about his friendship with Jeremy but it seemed like the fifth-year was purposefully avoiding him now too and that made him uneasy. Why would the fact that Gavin had friends outside of Ravenclaw bother him that much?

He apparently wasn't the only one who had noticed it either because Meg approached him one evening while he was curled up in front of the fireplace in Ravenclaw Tower, re-reading through his latest Potions essay. She dropped onto the carpet in front of him and folded her legs, waiting patiently for him to finish reading and pay attention to her. The moment he glanced up she cleared her throat and asked, "What did you do to upset Ryan?"

"What did  _I_  do?" Gavin repeated, feeling almost offended by the implication. "He upset me!"  _And Jeremy_. That part was left unsaid though because as far as he knew Meg had no idea who Jeremy was and why would she? She was a popular fifth-year girl and it was highly unlikely that she paid attention to Gavin as anything more than Ryan's dorky younger friend.

"Okay, talk me through what happened, kiddo," she sighed, running her hands through her long dark hair. It occurred to Gavin that Meg was probably the prettiest girl in the school but there was no way she'd ever look at him twice. She was so far out of his league it was almost laughable. Instead of dwell on that he simply explained the situation and how Ryan had gotten unnecessarily rude simply because Jeremy was sat with him in breakfast. A look of understanding flashed across Meg's face before she grimaced.

"You know something, don't you?" he asked, unable to stop himself. Once again his curiosity had gotten the better of him. It was a battle he fought every day and one that would get him in trouble at some point. 

"Ryan-- he's got some issues with making friends in other houses," Meg started, provoking a snort out of Gavin.

"You don't say."

She levelled a glare in his direction. "You want my help or not?" she asked sharply. He quickly hid the sarcastic grin from his face and nodded. "Back in his second year he was best friends with a Gryffindor - Burnie Burns. Things got pretty sour between them when Burnie sided with some jerks from his house over Ryan and... well, you should really be asking him about this. I don't want to step on any toes. It just got pretty bad between them, okay?"

Meg's story definitely helped clear up a few blanks, even being as vague as it was. Even though he usually made a point of ignoring the Gryffindors as much as possible, Gavin could picture Burnie clearly in his mind - tall, well built and already with fairly thick stubble at fifteen. He was a beater for their Quidditch team and thinking back Gavin had certainly noticed more rivalry between him and Ryan than was healthy when they'd come face-to-face on the Quidditch pitch. 

Nodding quickly, Gavin forced a smile onto his face. "Thanks Meg, that helps a lot actually," he mumbled, already beginning to think about how he was going to broach the subject with the older boy. He needed to find out exactly what happened so he could assure Ryan the same wouldn't happen between Jeremy and him. At least, Gavin felt fairly certain that was the case...

 

_\- RT -_

 

The Daily Prophet's front page declared in loud serif letters  _TAURUS STIRS UP TROUBLE IN FINLAND_  and while Gavin had absolutely no idea who this 'Taurus' was, Ryan certainly seemed invested in it. He was sat in the Three Broomsticks by himself during one of the school's infrequent trips to Hogsmeade and Gavin had deliberately broken away from the rest of his friends so he could speak to the fifth-year alone. Thankfully Jeremy hadn't been present or he'd have felt like he owed an explanation for why he wanted to have the conversation in private. Sinking down onto the stool across from Ryan, Gavin wasn't overly surprised when the only sign of acknowledgement he got from the other was a quick glance up before he continued reading.

"Meg told me about Burnie," Gavin begun, deciding to get right to the heart of the issue. It certainly got Ryan's attention too - his fingers gripped onto the pages of the newspaper tighter and he glared across the table at him. "She didn't say everything but I got enough to know why you don't want me to be friends with Jeremy."

"It's a bad idea," Ryan retorted, his voice surprisingly gruff. "Don't make the same mistake I did."

Ryan could try his scare tactics all he wanted but Gavin wasn't having any of it. Instead he folded his arms and smiled sympathetically. "I want you to tell me what happened," he said in a soft voice, "Let me make my own mind up but right now... if I don't know what went on, well, you just sound like a bully." The word provoked an even stronger reaction out of Ryan, his lips thinning into a thin line as he frowned. Gavin was very clearly pushing his luck with the other but he was standing - or more accurately sitting - his ground.

"I'm no bully," Ryan replied coldly. "Burnie was my friend. My best friend, just like Jeremy is for you. I would have done anything for him," he began to explain, his voice little more than an angry hiss, "The moment his house decided I was a skinny little nerd who was pulling him down with me though, he turned on me. Told them everything about me, all of the secrets I thought I could trust him with." Gavin could definitely sympathize. The thought of being exposed like that made his skin crawl and it wasn't something he'd wish on his worst enemy, especially not Ryan. "He heckled me in class, jinxed me in the corridors... he even polyjuiced into me so he could try and embarrass me in front of my teachers."

"How was he not kicked out?" Gavin gasped, feeling the anger beginning to burn inside of him. While he knew that he'd never win in a fight against a big burly guy like Burnie Burns, he certainly felt the desire to hex him right in the face.

"Ozpin's a family friend. Apparently he thinks Burnie's going to mature into the Minister of Magic or something." The statement was followed by a hollow laugh that felt so unlike Ryan. He was displaying an angry and wounded streak that Gavin hadn't expected of him at all but reminded him of just how human the other boy was. Previously he'd looked at Ryan as a model of perfection but that wasn't exactly true. Nobody was perfect, just like Jeremy had said to him. They were all made up of shades of grey and it was just about navigating those to see what kind of person they really were underneath. Gavin didn't believe that Ryan was inherently cruel or a bully, he was just a wounded kid lashing out to make sure the same didn't happen to anybody else. He could understand that.

"Jeremy's not like that, Ryan," he assured the other boy as softly as he could. "I know you probably thought that about Burnie but I know him. He's... he's special. He wouldn't do that to me." Gavin had never been surer of anything in his life.

Ryan stared at him long and hard for several seconds, an unreadable expression flashing across his face before he nodded slowly. "It's not my place to tell you how to live your life, Gavin," he said finally, his voice a lot weaker than it had been before, "I just don't want to see you getting hurt." He reached out to ruffle Gavin's hair until the third-year pulled sharply away.

"Do that again and I  _will_  hex you, Haywood. Understood?" he threatened, fighting back against a grin. Ryan just winked in return, every part of him enticed by the challenge. For the first time in months things finally felt back to their natural state between them and even though it had been an uncomfortable discussion at first, Gavin was glad they'd had it. He couldn't deal with any more friendship drama.

 

_\- RT -_

 

“Hey, did you speak to Ryan about me?” Jeremy hissed across the desk at him during Potions one early Tuesday morning. It wasn’t exactly the question Gavin had been expecting so he simply stared at the other boy for a few moments before nodding.

“Yeah, why?” he asked apprehensively while continuing to crush the venom viper seeds they were using for their latest potion. A quick glance around the dungeon confirmed that not only was Professor Oobleck occupied watching Kdin and Trevor make progress on their own potion but that a great number of students were struggling just as much as Gavin and Jeremy were.

“He came and spoke to me this morning over breakfast,” the other boy explained. “Apologized too, actually. His exact words were _I’m a dick and shouldn’t let my own issues get in the way of Gavin’s friendships_ if you wanted to know.”

Gavin had to hide his laugh by covering his mouth with the sleeves of his robes. Yeah, that sounded like Ryan alright. A grin spread across Jeremy’s face as he threw the next ingredients into their cauldron. Thankfully no more needed to be said on the matter because a simple look between them was more than enough. Finally Gavin didn’t have to worry about two of his closest friends being at odds with each other over a years-old issue. Getting rid of the stress was relatively cathartic - _now if only I could get rid of the rest of the stress…_

 

_\- RT -_

 

Gavin decided that he was a fool for ever thinking that the Ravenclaw versus Slytherin Quidditch matches in his first two years were stressful occasions considering who his friends were because those were nothing compared to how he felt now both of his best friends in Ravenclaw and his best friend in Slytherin were on their respective teams. While his loyalty to his house likely overruled any friendship he had with the members of the Slytherin team, he knew that there was no way he couldn’t at least partially root for Jeremy. The other boy had been the one to teach him how to fly and kept him company throughout potions lessons as they both stumbled through. Even though he felt fairly confident in saying that he spent more time with Cole and Miles, a small part of him felt like his connection to Jeremy ran even deeper. It wasn’t something he’d ever said out loud nor consciously realized before but there was just something _different_ about Jeremy.

The Slytherin team seemed to get better every year and now that Mica was in place as their Seeker on a top-of-the-range broom they were more of a threat than ever. Jeremy was ferocious as a beater and within ten minutes he had already managed to knock Gray Haddock, one of Ravenclaw's beaters, off of his broom. Gavin let out a silent 'thank you' that it wasn't Miles who'd been unfortunate enough to be hit but he still wasn't holding out hope that none of his friends would need a trip to the hospital wing after the game.

As the game approached the forty minute mark Mica began speeding towards the sky, her broom easily outstripping Meg as she followed in pursuit. The two seekers sped around the pitch in desperate chase after the golden snitch and suddenly the game happening below them seemed completely irrelevant. Slytherin were up with a ten point lead but everybody knew that the snitch changed everything and if Ravenclaw got their hands on it then it would change the result of the game.

Despite all of Ravenclaw's hoping and praying, it was Mica's hand who closed around the small golden sphere first and the Slytherin crowds across the other side of the pitch erupted with roars of success. It wasn't an unfamiliar feeling either - Slytherin had trumped them twice in a row now and despite the small amount of pride Gavin felt for Jeremy's contribution to his team's victory, he still couldn't help the fact that he desperately wanted his team to finally triumph over them.  _Next year. We'll do it next year_. The longer they were kept down, the more determined they became to rise up after all.

In retrospect Gavin was rather glad none of the team had been unable to play for whatever reason because the thought of facing off against Jeremy (and yes, to a lesser extent, Mica) made him feel uneasy. While there was no denying that he was competitive and Quidditch definitely brought out that side of him, he also wasn’t one to play ruthlessly against his friends. Gavin could talk the big talk but he wasn’t sure how he’d face if he had to put it to the test. There was nothing to say it wouldn’t be a possibility he’d have to face up to in the future if he tried out for the team again but he was glad he had the reprieve for now if only because it was so soon after his discussion with Ryan that he was worried it might have provoked some sort of reaction from the older boy.

With two Quidditch games behind them and a serious struggle ahead for the Quidditch Cup, the Ravenclaws instead turned their attention towards the House Cup. They were determined to prove their worth and win _something_ , even if it wasn’t the one they really wanted. The latest tally for the private competition had Cole bringing up the lead (Professor Schnee had taken a surprising shine to him although Gavin was convinced that Cole getting to read Stan’s notes had something to do with that), Barbara in second, Gavin in third and Miles bringing up the rear. Miles didn’t seem all that sad about it really considering nobody wanted to spend any time at the Dunkelman house again any time soon and Gavin knew from experience that the Lunas were a welcoming family who would love having three more teenagers stay with them for a week or two.

The warmth began to roll in during the first few weeks of April and Gavin honestly couldn’t be happier for it. He had developed something of a loathing for the harsh winds of winter and he had a sneaking feeling that Quidditch practice played a part in that. Standing out on the Quidditch pitch in the early hours of a Sunday sounded much more bearable when he wasn’t shaking like a leaf, ready to blow away at any given moment. Unfortunately it was around that time that certain members of the Quidditch team started to get distracted and for good reason - the fifth years had their OWLs and the seventh years had their NEWTs in just over two months. Even the Captain seemed preoccupied, happy to let Gray lead the rest of the team and reserves on a practice while they cut it short to spend more time revising.

Ryan became something of an invisible man, always heading out of Ravenclaw Tower at early hours of the morning and returning shortly before lights-out. Gavin might have been worried if he hadn’t been acutely aware of the fact that the older boy was spending his time in the library with a number of textbooks and scrolls of parchment in front of him. His commitment to his studies was inspiring but watching him shuffle around a number of sheets of parchment was distressing to say the least. Thankfully Gavin had an idea and all it took was a quick letter back home to his parents to get it sorted.

A few days later he dropped a parcel onto the library table and sunk down into the seat opposite his friend. Ryan glanced up at him, lips curving into a frown before he started to inspect the parcel. “This is addressed to you,” he pointed out.

“I know,” Gavin replied, shrugging it off. “I ordered it for you though.”

It wasn’t often that Ryan looked so caught off guard but the way his mouth dropped open a fraction and his eyebrows rose was enough to make Gavin laugh. It was such a _human_ reaction that he almost hadn’t expected it from somebody like Ryan who he was convinced was part-statue or something. After a nod of encouragement, Ryan began to carefully peel away the paper layer covering the contents as if he was scared to break what was inside until eventually it plunged out and down onto the table.

The older boy stared at it curiously for a few moments. “What is this?”

“It’s a notebook,” Gavin replied, rolling his eyes. _Purebloods. Honestly, never heard of a notebook before?_

As if reading his mind, Ryan shook his head. “I know what a notebook is!” He picked it up and inspected it closely, running his fingers along the blue leather cover. It had certainly cost a bit more than the average notebook from a high street store but he wasn’t about to share that information. It wasn’t as if he’d bought it for Ryan expecting anything in return, that wasn’t how friendship worked. “Just… why did you buy it for me?”

“It’s more efficient than all that parchment. Trust me, Muggles have pretty good ideas sometimes,” Gavin replied in an easy tone despite being unable to hide the grin from his face. “I requested blue because I know you’re big on your house pride. Do you like it?”

The surprise on Ryan’s face settled down into a smile as his cheeks flushed pink and eyes sparkled sky blue. “I love it,” he confirmed, reaching out to ruffle Gavin’s hair in a move that was quickly becoming his trademark way of showing his appreciation for the younger boy. Hugs be damned or something. “Thank you, Gavin. This is really nice of you.”

Gavin could only shrug. “I try sometimes.” It was the little things like that which counted most after all, not always the grand gestures or public reaffirmations of their friendship. Something small like gifting a notebook to a friend could mean the world and for Gavin that delighted smile on Ryan’s face was more than enough payment in return.

 

_\- RT -_

 

Spending trips to Hogsmeade without Barbara was a strange experience for everybody involved. Their friendship group has grown so close-knit as a foursome and after all of the bickering and issues of their second year they wanted to keep it that way so having one friend cut off from such an important social outing felt wholly unfair. Unfortunately it seemed like the solution was completely out of their hands and while she hadn’t talked about it, it had become increasingly clear that Barbara’s relationship with her mother had gotten even worse throughout the year. She seemed more reserved than usual, less inclined to make the terrible puns they knew her best for and honestly Gavin missed them. He didn’t like seeing any of his friends struggling and even though she kept a brave face on it was clear that the situation with her mother was getting to her.

The guys usually alternated staying behind so Barbara wasn’t alone while the other third years visited the village and even though she always seemed irritated by their obvious pity at the start of the day, she mellowed throughout and usually thanked them at the end. Gavin had volunteered for it this time because he had a stack of Ancient Runes homework to complete anyway so a day in Ravenclaw Tower didn’t seem like a total waste. He found Barbara writing a Transfiguration essay at a small round table by one of the windows and settled himself in the armchair opposite her.

“You didn’t have to stay behind,” she said somewhat curtly without ever even glancing up at him.

“I had homework,” Gavin replied, playing innocent. “I’m pretty sure Schnee’s looking to take points away from me and I don’t want to come last so… homework.” He began spreading his things out on the small table, careful not to overwhelm her with conversation at the very start of the day. Barbara in a bad mood was something that they needed to be very careful about because they didn’t want to risk turning her ire against them.

The two Ravenclaw third years sat in silence for some time after that, both scribbling away at sheets of parchment with their ink-loaded quills. While the Gavin of his first year might have felt it necessary to fill the silence just to calm his own anxiety, the Gavin of third year was strangely at peace with it. They both had things to be getting on with and he knew that even if she didn’t say it, Barbara appreciated the company and it was best not to lay it on thick with the sympathy.

“I wish my parents would get a divorce.” Gavin was almost certain he’d imagined the words because they were said so quietly and once again Barbara didn’t even look up at him. Still, if he actually _had_ heard it then it was something they definitely needed to discuss. That wasn’t the kind of things you let friends say without worrying about.

“I’m sorry?” he asked, treading carefully as he rested his quill back inside the inkpot.

When Barbara finally looked up there were red rings around her eyes that Gavin felt like a fool for missing earlier. When had she been crying? “I want them to break up. Separate. Divorce,” she repeated, a bit of bite in her voice this time. “They’re not working and I hate being stuck in the middle of it. I can’t do it, it’s not _fair_.” She wiped at her eyes again, letting out a frustrated growl that seemed so unlike her. “My dad’s never home and my mother-- my _mother_ wants me to live out all her dreams. You know I’d probably try out for the team if she wasn’t pushing me so hard to?”

Gavin remained silent, opting just to nod instead. He couldn’t even begin to understand the situation Barbara was going through but he could at the very least listen to her woes and try and make it easier for her to deal with. That was what friendship was all about, right?

“I just… I’m so tired of fighting back against them. I hate it. I hate them,” she continued, curling up smaller in the armchair. Her voice remained steady even as she wiped more tears away from her eyes.

They remained in silence for a while after that, Gavin not quite knowing exactly what he should be doing. There was no way he could magic up a solution to this or he’d do it in a heartbeat. He’d had a bad feeling about Belinda Dunkelman from day one and now those feelings had been all but proven by how miserable she’d made her daughter. It was unacceptable that she was being punished like that but at only thirteen years old what could any of them really do to fight back?

“It’ll get better,” he promised softly some time later. “One day. It’ll get better.”

Now he just had to hope it wasn’t an empty promise.

 

_\- RT -_

 

Cole and Miles returned from Hogsmeade that evening with big smiles on their faces and even bigger bags of sweets and chocolates they’d bought specifically for Barbara from Honeydukes.

By that point she’d showered and made sure to hide the rings around her eyes but Gavin was still watching her closely. The bright smile that lit up her face when the boys dropped the bags onto the dinner table in front of her was enough to make his heart swell with pride. Not only had the boys gotten over their issues from the previous year in spectacular fashion but they’d also thought ahead to provide a pick-me-up for Barbara at a time she needed it most.

Just looking around at the other three Ravenclaws Gavin realized that he’d probably never had better friends than them, nor would he likely ever again.

 

_\- RT -_

 

The last Quidditch game of the year was a horrendous occasion to be a Ravenclaw. With almost half of their team sitting major exams that had been eating up their practice time, they weren’t nearly as prepared as Gryffindor were. The Captain and Jules, another Chaser, had been admitted to the hospital wing after they’d broken down from the stress of studying for their NEWTs so it had fallen to Gray, the only senior member of the team who wasn’t currently too distracted by exam pressure, to make the decisions. He’d called upon the other two reserves, Hagan and Blake, to fill the spots and Gavin tried not to be too offended that he hadn’t been picked instead of one of them.

When the game unfolded before him though he was relatively glad he had no involvement. The Gryffindor team were on the offensive and Ryan was very clearly off his game, letting in four goals within the first ten minutes and only managing to block two. The frustration was written all over his face and it was beginning to affect the rest of the team too. Gavin was almost certain that the goals would be eating away at Cole and when he got agitated Cole tended to get sloppy. It was a recipe for disaster, simply put.

Across the stands Gavin could clearly see Burnie Burns, Gryffindor prefect and Ryan’s arch enemy, leading a rousing chant that he was pretty sure had a rather crude chorus. Nobody seemed to be stopping or silencing them and it made Gavin’s blood boil. _No wonder Ryan’s so out of it_. The urge to fire a hex across the stands at the fifth-year Gryffindor was strong but he knew how ridiculous that thought was. Besides, Ryan wouldn’t want him getting into trouble on his behalf, especially not for trying to take on the school’s golden boy.

By the time the game was over and Gryffindor Seeker James Willems had his fingers wrapped around the golden snitch it was horrifyingly clear to Ravenclaw that they were far more likely to come bottom of the table than even come close to earning the Quidditch Cup. They’d only managed a single victory out of three games and it left them all feeling rather down-trodden. The year before their defeat had made them determined but now it just made them _sad_. It was as if achieving Quidditch success was simply one pipe dream too many for them.

Gavin was so busy wallowing in defeat as he stomped his way up the path back towards the castle that he didn’t hear Jeremy calling out to him until the boy had all but tackled him from behind. That was the exact moment that he realized he was actually a few inches taller than Jeremy, a fact that was enough to bring at least a little smile to his face. “What’s up, J?” he asked, allowing the company of his best friend restore a little bit of warmth inside his heart.

“Remember when I said we should go see a Quidditch match together?” the other boy replied, a giddy smile lighting up his face.

Gavin frowned. “Vaguely, yeah. Why?”

“My folks got me tickets for the next Arrows and Wasps game in August, do you want to come?” The Appleby Arrows were Jeremy’s favourite Quidditch team and their fierce rivalry with the Wimbourne Wasps had been the subject of many discussions between them. While Gavin still hadn’t settled on a team to support for himself he was more than happy to cheer along for the Arrows.

The misery he’d felt after Ravenclaw’s performance was quickly replaced by buzzing excitement. “I’d love to, yeah! That sounds great, thank you!” he enthused, thrilled at the fact Jeremy had chosen to ask him instead of any of his other friends. Jeremy was hardly unpopular and could have chosen to take Mica or Trevor or anyone and yet he’d come to Gavin with the offer anyway. It was practically enough to make him blush that his friend had even thought of him.

While his house as a whole might have ended the day feeling disheartened and disappointed, Gavin could hardly hide the grin from his face. Watching a league match with the Dooleys and then likely spending a week with his friends at the Lunas? His summer was looking pretty fun already.

 

_\- RT -_

 

Michael Jones was very rarely in a good mood and seemed more than happy to follow Professor Schnee's rules and remain in silence rather than talking to Gavin but he seemed extra disgruntled as Gavin sat beside him during their Thursday afternoon Ancient Runes lesson in late May.

As the lesson progressed, Gavin became more concerned. While he couldn't exactly describe Michael's handwriting as anything more than an illegible scribble, the Gryffindor boy usually made a fair amount of notes because he knew better than to risk Professor Schnee's ire. This lesson though his quill remained in its inkwell and his hands were placed in his lap, shaking ever so slightly. It caught Gavin by surprise and he immediately started a war with his mind, wondering whether he should bring it up. Did Michael even know he was doing it?

Once the teacher had walked past to patrol the back of the room, Gavin leaned in a little closer to the other boy's side. "What's wrong?" he whispered, surprised at the level of concern he felt for the boy who'd never had a kind word to say to him. 

"Nothing," Michael hissed in return, clasping his hands together to stop them from shaking. He continued to stare at his lap, sitting so still he may as well have been a statue. Needless to say his words weren't overly reassuring. There was definitely something wrong with him and Gavin knew that his own curiosity and natural concern for others wouldn't let him drop the subject until he'd been reassured.

Waiting until Professor Schnee was well out of earshot, Gavin tried his luck again. "I know we're not friends but you can talk to me if you want," he murmured, trying to extend an olive branch. Gavin was through with people looking miserable and nobody doing anything to help them. Maybe Barbara's situation was a little too out of his reach but if he could do anything to make Michael feel better then he would try his best. 

Finally the other boy looked up at him. His eyes were fixed in a stony glare that made Gavin think that if they weren't in a lesson he'd be on the receiving end of a hex. "Leave me alone," the other boy snarled, loud enough to draw Professor Schnee's attention. Her sharp expression was enough to end Gavin's attempts to help. He really couldn't risk getting on her bad side more than he already was, especially when Cole enjoyed gloating about sitting next to the teacher's pet so much.

 

_\- RT -_

 

While they weren't OWLs or NEWTs, there was still a level of stress surrounding the third year exams. Their teachers had been working them hard, declaring that their third and fourth years were 'preparation years' and their questions would be of OWL-level difficulty. Gavin had no doubt that certain teachers would live up to that claim by setting a difficult exam (Professor Schnee, for example) while others might be somewhat kinder. Either way the third years found themselves gathered in study groups around the school and with the weather improving and actually allowing some sunlight to decorate the castle grounds, Gavin and his group had claimed a small space in the courtyard below the Astronomy Tower.

Trevor and Barbara had taken the lead in organizing a revision plan for the entire group of Ravenclaws and Slytherins. Between the nine of them they would split up into three groups of three and quiz each other on a certain subject before rotating. Electives were more difficult but thankfully the pair had thought of everything and organized evening sessions when they could form small groups on specific evenings for each of the five elective classes depending on who had taken them. Gavin found himself in a group with Jeremy and Lindsay for the main revision and while discussing their History of Magic topics for the year was hardly an interesting topic Gavin found himself with several pages of his own notepad filled with revision notes that would certainly make things a lot easier than reading through the seemingly endless scrolls of parchment he'd written in lessons.

By the time their exams rolled around it was clear that Trevor and Barbara's revision scheme had done miracles for them. Gavin more prepared for the exams than he had in both years previously and even though he'd struggled with the Ancient Runes exam he didn't feel like he'd failed entirely. Miles' Christmas gift of  _Ancient Runes Made Even Easier_  had certainly helped the small group of them taking the elective with their revision too.

Throughout the exam period Gavin kept his eye on Michael when he knew that the other boy wasn't watching. Now that his interest in piqued he could certainly tell that there was something  _different_  about him compared to his previous behaviour. He was still menacing and not the kind of person Gavin would willingly have a conversation with but he seemed quieter than usual and less likely to join in with Blaine and his cronies whenever they jeered at other students for making a simple mistake or tripped them up in the corridors. Gavin wasn't even going to pass judgment on the fact the Gryffindor boys seemingly hadn't matured in three years but he'd almost prefer Michael to be acting like his usual self because then he wouldn't be so damn worried about him. It was a rather bewildering feeling to be concerned about somebody he didn't even particularly like all that much.

Once their final exam - Potions, which Gavin felt incredibly confident in thanks to his and Jeremy's constant back-and-forth with their revision - was over, the friends gathered on a grass slope just outstanding the castle leading down towards the Forbidden Forest. Laying back to allow the sun to wash over them, they all breathed a sigh of relief that exams were over for at least another year and they'd all managed to survive.

 

_\- RT -_

 

"Okay, final tally!" Cole declared on their penultimate night at Hogwarts for their third year. The foursome were gathered in a circle in Ravenclaw Tower, feet outstretched and mixing in the middle. From an outsider's perspective it probably looked like an uncomfortable mess but the truth was that it was the most comfortable Gavin felt in a while. Even though it wasn't always the case, at that exact moment their friendship felt  _easy_. They would support each other through anything and who won or lost their competition wasn't even really important to them.

"Eighty-five," Barbara declared proudly, casting a suspicious gaze around the circle.

"Forty," Miles sighed. A simple glance at his expression confirmed that he'd already resigned himself to last place.

"Fifty," Gavin pitched in, feeling impressed with himself that he'd at least managed to beat Miles. He hadn't put much stock in the competition really but he still felt like fifty house points over a year was something to proud of. Back at his junior school he'd been in and out of detention and always being reprimanded for something or other and look at him now. He was practically a model student!

"Ninety," Cole concluded, flashing a smug grin in Barbara's direction. It was no secret that the real race for the winner had been between the two of them the whole time. Maybe one year Gavin would be able to compete with them but while Professor Schnee remained entirely ambivalent towards him he didn't see that day approaching at any point soon.

They had just begun cheering Cole's success when another voice yelled across the common room, "Seventy-three!" They all glanced over to find Ryan grinning in their direction.

"I think I'm the  _real_  winner which sixty-nine," Meg chimed in, earning a chorus of giggles from all the students present. Gavin was surprised to find that apparently their housemates had heard about their competition and decided to pay along.

"Actually  _I'm_  the real winner," Gus Sorola corrected her, puffing his chest out as he declared, "Hundred-and-Fifteen." There was really no surprise about that though. While Gavin had never had any real interaction with Gus, he was well known for being something of a nerd and more importantly a stickler for rules. The teachers loved him because he never stepped a toe out of line so no wonder he ended up with the most house points.

Several more students pitched in after that, from Gray to the Quidditch Captain and Gavin couldn't help but grin. "Party at Gus' this summer then?" he suggested, glancing around. Meg and Ryan roared with laughter while Gus scowled.

"Not likely," he seethed, shaking his head. "Your deal was for the  _loser_  to host the party." Gavin wasn't even sure that he'd  _want_  to go to a party at the Sorola house. He could only imagine what kind of family he'd have. They certainly seemed like the no-fun type if Gus was anything to go by. A party to the Sorola family was probably sitting down in the same room to read books in silence.

"We're all going to Luna's then?" Gray hollered, earning another chorus of laughs.

Miles only grinned in return. "Oh, my mom would love that. The more the merrier."

"You serious?" Meg asked, her interest piqued. "Because I will totally drag this one along and crash." She pulled on Ryan's arm a little, provoking a fond smile from the older boy.

"Yeah, why not. I'll warn her tomorrow and send you all an owl or something." That was Miles' personality to a tee - he got along with everyone and was always willing to make more friends. He was quite literally the life of the party and Gavin couldn't think of a better place to hold a party than in the vast backyard of the Luna family home. They had welcomed Gavin with open arms in the summer before his second year and he knew for a fact that Miles wasn't lying when he said his mother would welcome them all. Unlike Barbara's mother Mrs Luna was warm and kind and would no doubt foster any child should she be given the opportunity. Gavin had been half expecting her to not let him leave, she'd become fond of him so quickly.

"So it's settled. Miles hosts the party," Barbara concluded, a bright smile on her face. Seeing her happy was enough to make Gavin grin. If anybody needed something good to look forward to over the summer then it was her. Now they just had to make sure it was the best party she'd ever been to.

 

_\- RT -_

 

There were very few surprises when the House Cup was rewarded to Hufflepuff although there was still a rather audible ripple of disappointment that spread down the Ravenclaw table. They had come within twenty points of it and just falling short was disheartening after they had all worked so hard for it. Gavin was resigned to telling himself that they could push themselves the extra mile the next year but that was beginning to feel like a conversation he was having all too much. So much  _it'll be better next year_  and so little  _it's getting better now_.

Despite their loss for either of the prized trophies, there was still a sense of jubilation between the Ravenclaws on the train back to King's Cross. They'd managed to go the full year without arguing and the promise of a grand party at the Luna house was enough to fuel even Barbara with excitement. That was cause enough for celebration at least. Chocolate frog cards were exchanged, Bertie Botts beans were eaten and some of the worst puns ever known to mankind were uttered by Barbara.

By the time they stepped off the train onto Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters, Gavin had a grin on his face that wouldn't fade. He said goodbye to each of his friends, exchanging a warm embrace with Jeremy and promising to see him in a few short weeks for the Arrows Quidditch match. The thought of spending time with Jeremy outside of school and without the rest of their friends there excited him to no end. 

As he made his way towards his waiting parents, Gavin was granted one final surprise: James Haywood, Ryan's father, deep in discussion with a stern-looking man with auburn curly hair. There was something so familiar about him and it all clicked into place as Michael approach and the man slammed his hand down onto his son's shoulder.  _James Haywood and Jones Sr? That's a match and a half_. In fact it was enough to turn his stomach. Did it have anything to do with whatever was going on with Michael?

Reminding himself that it was none of his business, Gavin ducked his head and continued walking towards his parents at a slightly quicker pace. There was no point troubling himself with matters that were none of his concern when he had a summer full of fun to look forward to. For once he just wanted to stay in the positive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always you can follow and interact with me on tumblr at [ramcour](http://ramcour.tumblr.com/)!
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter - see you next month for Year Four!


	5. Fourth Year, Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin's fourth year gets off to a bad start.

_"We're here with Amelie Ramwood, the acting Minister of Magic just hours after Adam Taurus' attack on the ministry which claimed the lives of eighteen high-ranking officials including Minister Quartz himself. What can you tell us about the ministry's reaction to this attack, ma'am?"_  the reporter asked, her voice coming loud and clear through the radio. It seemed to echo throughout the room, sending a shiver down Gavin's spine. He was still struggling to believe what he was hearing.

_"We do not take this attack likely,"_  Minister Ramwood responded,  _"Taurus has exposed that he is as much of a tyrant as his father was and he seeks to sow seeds of disunity in Europe's magical community. We will not stand for this. He shall be hunted down and forced to stand trial for his crimes."_  Her voice was stern and unwavering but it was easy to hear the anger burning beneath the surface. This was personal. Her friends had been killed and now she'd been forced to step into a position she'd only ever supported before.

It seemed insane to believe that just twelve hours ago Gavin had been celebrating the Arrows' win with Jeremy after they finally saw the Quidditch game he'd promised back in their second year. The world had felt full of colour then but now it appeared very grey and the smiles they had worn had been wiped clean off of their faces. This was not the time for smiles or celebration, it was a time to consider what this meant for the wider wizarding world.

As much as he often found the lesson rather dull due to the droning voice of his narcissistic teacher, History of Magic had taught Gavin plenty about the tyrants who had tormented the wizarding world from practically its origin. He'd heard stories from people who lived through the Second Wizarding War to fight Voldemort and read essays written by those who had opposed Grindelwald during the height of his power. The thought of living during a tyrant's reign of terror on the community worried Gavin because he knew all too well that the Muggleborns would be the first in the firing line. That put a target on both him and his parents and he would be a fool not to take that seriously.

Despite having heard the name in passing several times throughout the past year, Gavin was relatively clueless when the conversation turned to Taurus himself. It was Jeremy's parents that explained the full story to him. "His father was Anton Taurus who attempted to lead a revolt after Voldemort's defeat. He believed that only a few bloodlines were important enough to carry magic and all others should have their magic forcibly removed," Mrs Dooley explained, a darkness flashing across her face that could only mean that she had brushed much closer to Anton Taurus' reign than she would have liked.

"Forcibly removed?" Gavin asked, horrified by the thought. 

"There exists some very ancient dark magic out there," Jeremy's father cut in, "Not many know of it but Taurus... somehow he worked it out. The results were terrible. His victims were left as zombies, unable to think for themselves and only fit to serve. They became his army." A shiver ran down Gavin's spine. A fate like that made death sound preferable and that was something he never thought he'd have to consider. He had always known there were cruel people out there in the world - the Muggle world had taught him enough about that - but he hadn't quite realized just how deep that cruelty could run. It was inhumane and yet these people somehow thought that it made perfect sense and it was  _right_.

A hand moved to Gavin's back, stroking it reassuringly and he glanced to his side to find Jeremy watching him closely. There was no smile on the other boy's face, instead his lips were fixed into a concerned frown and there was something deeper in his eyes, something genuine. He didn't need to say anything for Gavin to understand exactly what his message was.

_"If you have any information on Adam Taurus or his whereabouts, we urge you to come forward,"_  the news presenter concluded.  _"We cannot let another attack like this happen. We must keep our people and our children safe."_

 

_\- RT -_

 

"Are you going to be safe there?" Gavin's father asked. His parents didn't particularly understand what was going on but Gavin had done his best to explain. Naturally they were concerned and while it was appreciated, he really didn't see how much could go wrong during the floo powder journey between his house and Miles'. Despite the news that had covered the Daily Prophet from front page to back, the Luna family were still determined to host their party and Gavin was just as determined to go. Even with the shadow of Taurus looming over them all he wouldn't let himself live in fear. It would only ear away at him if that happened and he had to be stronger than that. This wasn't going to stop the world from turning or his life from moving on. 

"They've already set protective charms up around the property just in case," Gavin confirmed, slinging his bag over his shoulder. Miles was due to arrive at any moment to collect him but he really didn't want to leave with his parents thinking it might be the last time they saw him. "Miles' dad was an auror for years - a magical policeman. He'll keep us safe. Besides, they teach us Defence Against the Dark Arts for a reason," he joked, cracking a small smile.

"Lessons are different from real life," his father pointed out, seemingly not swayed. "These people are likely capable of more than what you expect."

Before Gavin could even think of a counter-argument his mother placed her hand on her husband's shoulder, immediately a calming influence on them boys. "He knows, sweetheart. He's a sensible boy," she said quietly, smiling across at him. "He might be brave but he's clever enough to pick his battles." Gavin nodded in agreement. If his time at Hogwarts had taught him everything then it was that not every battle was worth fighting. He'd witnessed enough arguments among both his friends and enemies to understand that. There was a big difference between bravery and stupidity.

The fireplace erupted with purple flames at that moment and Miles stumbled out into Gavin's waiting arms. Like with all things he did, the other boy wasn't the most graceful at traveling by floo powder but he still made the effort anyway. It was one of the great things about Miles - he didn't let anybody else's opinion of how he did things affect him, he just powered through anyway. Gavin wished he could be even half as confident as that.

"You ready to go?" Miles asked, his grin not showing any signs of trouble. That was another one of his perks, he never seemed to let the outside world affect his mood so he became something of a shining light during darker times like these. Even the way he offered his hand for Gavin's father and then his mother to shake was enough to make Gavin feel genuinely delighted for at least a few moments.

Rather than answering straight away, Gavin spared a glance towards his parents. When his father somewhat stiffly nodded, he let out a small breath. "I'm good," he confirmed, reaching forward to embrace his parents.  _I'm going to be fine_ , he told himself, hating that it was even something he had to consider. There was no sign that Adam Taurus was going to attack the party - why would he even bother? It would have to be the biggest coincidence in the world and yet there was a small seed of doubt in Gavin's mind that he couldn't quite crush no matter how hard he tried.

For the second time that summer Gavin was caught off guard at the stark contrast between his own Muggle home and the magical family home that he found himself in once he'd emerged from the green flames and stepped out of the fireplace into the Luna family's living room. He'd barely been there for a second before two figures dived forward, wrapping him in tight embraces that left him struggling to breathe until their grips finally weakened. It didn't take him long to realize that the long blonde hair and short dark curls belonged to Barbara and Cole and he easily relaxed into the embrace, just as pleased to see them as they were to see him.

"We thought you might not be able to make it," Barbara confessed as they pulled back.

"We weren't sure how your parents would take the news," Cole explained, shifting uncomfortably on the spot. "I know it can be a bit more difficult for Muggles to understand." He wasn't wrong there. While his parents had welcomed the madness that had enveloped his life with open arms they still didn't quite understand everything about it. He supposed they never would either as they couldn't experience it themselves.

"I managed to talk them around," he confirmed, smiling broadly at them. "So who else is here?" They had ended their third year with a promise of a big party and yet the only people there to greet him had been Barbara and Cole. Were the others elsewhere setting things up?

As Miles stepped out of the fireplace behind him, Barbara and Cole exchanged knowing glances. "Well, with the news people were understandably a bit more reluctant to come out," Cole started, throwing himself down onto a nearby sofa to spread his long legs out.

"Most of them cancelled," Miles lamented, jumping down next to his best friend and resting his head against the other boy's lap. "No Gray, no Gus, no Hagan, no Jules."

While Gavin was certainly sad that the party wouldn't be as big as planned, there were two people who hadn't been named yet that he was far more concerned about. "Ryan and Meg?" he inquired, uncharacteristically impatient. He'd been looking forward to seeing the older boy for several weeks now and his brief discussions alone with Meg had been pleasant enough for him to consider her a friend too. If anybody else from their house had made it out then he hoped it was them.

"They're outside helping Miles' parents set up," Barbara confirmed, placing her hand on Gavin's back as if she could sense his inner tension. "Why don't we go find them?" Miles apparently had no plans to perform his duties as a host now that he'd gotten comfortable. Then again Gavin didn't expect much else of his friend so he simply rolled his eyes and let Barbara lead him through the kitchen and out onto the patio.

The party decorations weren't quite as expensive as Gavin had been expecting but he supposed that they didn't have to be considering half of the attendees had cancelled. There was still a long dining table with places for ten and a brilliant violet canopy hanging above their heads, all decorated with floating fairy lights. Once again Gavin found himself amazed by how even just the smallest hint of magic could make something come to life so beautifully. Underneath it all stood two familiar faces, both lighting up with smiles when they saw their new arrival.

Without any warning Gavin was enveloped in a tight embrace, strong arms practically crushing him as Ryan held onto him for several long moments before finally letting him free. "Glad you could make it," the older boy said warmly, skies dancing in his light blue eyes. Meg's greeting was far more restrained, wrapping an arm around his shoulders for a brief hug before stepping back to allow Gavin his space.

"I'm glad you two could," he replied, grinning at them both. While it wasn't as if Gavin spent as much time with them as he did with the others in his year but the perspective of an older student had certainly helped him on more occasion than once. He could usually rely on them to be more mature too - Ryan's issues with other houses not included - which had certainly always been a benefit to him. Thankfully he felt like his own friends were reaching an age where they were all maturing and wouldn't have to put up with any more silly disagreements. Then again, they  _were_  only fourteen. There was always time for things to go wrong.

"We're here to celebrate," Meg declared giddily, nudging Ryan in the ribs. "Go on, tell him!"

Gavin turned his attention to the taller boy and quirked an eyebrow in confusion. If there was something worth celebrating then he was all for it because the mood had been way too dour for his liking yesterday. Rather than giving him a vocal reply, Ryan reached into his pocket and then held something out for him to see. Gavin picked up the small golden badge and peered closer at it, admiring the shiny blue decoration of an eagle and then reading the words  _Quidditch Captain_. 

"Guess I did something right," Ryan joked. That seemed like an understatement given Ryan's track record on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. He'd been a reliably great Keeper and even if they hadn't managed to win the Quidditch Cup at any point over the last three years Gavin felt like things might genuinely change under Ryan's rule. He was the kind of guy anybody would happily listen to and most importantly he garnered respect from the rest of the team and not through intimidation but rather genuine talent.

"They couldn't have picked a better person," Gavin declared proudly, pulling his friend into another tight hug. He always wanted his friends to succeed and this was a major display of that. Truth be told Gavin wasn't overly sure what Ryan's plans for his future were but if he had any intentions to follow the professional Quidditch route then this would definitely be a good place to start. Even if he didn't have any plans for it, the responsibility that came with leading a team would surely open more avenues for him. There was no way this was anything other than a big win for him.

Despite the dark cloud that had settled over their community in recent weeks the meal that night really was something of the celebration Meg had promised, both of Ryan's new role and of their perseverance through the dark times. The Luna family were eternal optimists, always able to see the small speck of light breaking through the clouds and that showed then more than ever as they made sure their guests were well looked after. Even Miles' older brothers were welcoming, enjoying the opportunity to tease their youngest sibling in front of his friends. Having never had siblings of his own Gavin found it fascinating and heartwarming to watch how Miles' cheeks flared reds and he mumbled comebacks at them under his breath so that his parents wouldn't be able to hear him.

Glancing around the table at the grinning faces of his closest friends, Gavin easily let go of the worries that had plagued his mind in the weeks since the attack on the Ministry. For that evening at least everything felt totally right with the world.

 

_\- RT -_

 

The atmosphere on Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters on September 1st was far tenser than Gavin had been expecting. Wizarding police lined the platform, checking bags at random and causing a general sense of unease among the students and their parents. There were no excited reunions between friends or chocolate frog card exchanges happening but there were certainly a lot more tearful parents hanging onto their children as if it was the last time they might see them. Even Gavin's father kept his hand gripped tightly on his shoulder until he was all but at one of the train's doors and his cases had been loaded on-board. 

"You'll be safe, won't you?" his father asked, his face lined with worry. He was a serious man at the best of times but Gavin never felt like the concern was warranted until now. Sure, Gavin had gotten into scrapes back at his Muggle junior school but this was a whole other kettle of fish. He'd been assured time and time again that Hogwarts was the safest place in the wizarding world but if the Ministry of Magic itself could be attacked then who was to say that Hogwarts wasn't a target too? It would certainly make quite a statement and it seemed entirely within Taurus' mission objective to forcibly rip the magic out of children who he didn't deem worthy before they had ever really had the chance to harness that power inside of them.

"Always," Gavin promised in return, faking a confidence he didn't quite feel. "You don't need to worry."

"We'll always worry," his mother chimed in, a sad lilt to her voice as she leaned down to place a kiss against his forehead. "Stay brave, my clever little boy."

Gavin couldn't help but laugh. "I'm not so little anymore," he pointed out, barely having to tilt his head up to look at his mother anymore. He'd had another growth spurt over the summer and it meant his trunk was full of new clothes because his parents didn't want to subject him to exposed ankles and wrists which he was certainly thankful for. Gavin preferred to keep the attention off himself and wearing clothing he'd clearly grown out of would definitely make him stand out like a sore thumb.

After saying his goodbyes to his parents, Gavin climbed onto the train and began to navigate the compartments until he found his friends. They fell into easy conversation, all seemingly unbothered by the tense atmosphere they had found on the platform. Despite that Gavin knew it was preying on the back of their minds, an elephant in the room that they all felt too scared to mention. None of them wanted to find themselves in the kind of situation they had so they continued to smile and pretend that everything was just fine.

 

_\- RT -_

 

"There are dark times ahead," Professor Ozpin declared, his voice ringing out around an otherwise silent great hall. There had been an uncomfortably sombre tone throughout the sorting ceremony, everybody's reactions far more muted than usual as the first years were sorted into their new houses. Gavin couldn't help but look around at his classmates and wonder exactly how many of them had been personally affected by the attack on the ministry. Even worse he wondered how many of them agreed with Adam Taurus and his objectives. He didn't want to think that of any of his classmates and yet it seemed likely there were at least  _some_  among them. The thought sent a shiver down his spine.

"The shadow of intolerance and cruelty has spread across Europe and now it has reached our doors," their headmaster continued. "We will not let it spread any further, particularly not in the halls of this esteemed school. While you are my pupil, I shall let no harm come to you." His words were likely supposed to reassure but Gavin didn't get that from them. In fact there was very little he found reassuring about Professor Ozpin with his silver hair, dark glasses and icy thin voice. There was no warmth there, nor any of the feelings of loyalty that Gavin felt towards his other teachers. The headmaster was an enigma and one that made Gavin feel very uncomfortable the more he tried to understand it. 

Despite the ominous opening, there was still a buzz in the air as the feast formally began and the students began loading their plates up. The headmaster's words still lingered in the minds of some though as proven by Miles leaning forward and asking curiously, "You don't really think Taurus would try to attack Hogwarts, would you?"

"I don't know the first thing that goes on about that man's mind," Cole replied through a mouthful of mashed potato. "Depends how much of an idiot he is really, doesn't it?" Gavin wished he had as much faith as his friend did because he didn't feel quite so certain. Was there really that much to stop somebody from launching a skirmish at Hogwarts? It had happened before, after all.

Thankfully the conversation was diverted by talk of the recent Quidditch championships which Gavin was more than happy to join in with, regaling stories of the match he'd seen with Jeremy. Both Barbara and Miles had been treated to watching professional Quidditch matches before which was why Gavin was so surprised when he discovered that Cole, the biggest Quidditch fan of the lot, had never been to one before. He hung onto every word of Gavin's story, eyes lighting up with excitement as he described every swoop and trick the team had managed to pull off. 

Eventually the conversation turned from professional Quidditch to amateur and they began talking strategies for how they were going to get Ravenclaw back into the lead. "Has Ryan told you when try-outs are yet?" Miles asked, looking straight at Gavin.

"Why would he tell me?" he replied, quirking a quizzical eyebrow.

"Well, you know, you  _are_  his favourite," Cole declared, as if that was some well-known fact that they'd all embraced. As if to prove the point both Barbara and Miles nodded eagerly, provoking a squawk from Gavin. They were just being ridiculous, there was no way he was Ryan's "favourite". Ryan didn't  _have_  favourites.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Gavin shook his head. "No, he hasn't. I'm not his favourite either so pack that in," he huffed. Still, now that the seed had been planted in his mind he couldn't help but wonder if there was some truth to their statement. He knew he and Ryan were good friends, he had just never put much thought into just how deep that connection ran. Glancing down the Ravenclaw table he met the older boy's gaze and smiled softly, pleased to find it was immediately returned.  _Okay, maybe there's a little bit of truth there..._

By the time the Ravenclaw fourth year boys had settled into their dorm later that evening their bellies were full of food and brains too exhausted to carry on with the conversation. Gavin dreamed of getting back onto his broom and flying away from the problems that were threatening to consume the relative happiness he'd been enjoying for the past year. Finally back in his four-poster bed, Gavin wasn't at all surprised to find that it was the best night's sleep he'd had in months.

 

_\- RT -_

 

Fourth year lessons turned out to be even more difficult than third year lessons. Gavin wasn't exactly surprised about that considering it made logical sense but he was dismayed to find that the preparation he'd done over the summer didn't even help all that much. He was still just as overwhelmed by Professor Schnee's unforgiving teaching style in Ancient Runes and perplexed by the mysteries of Divination. Professor Scarlatina was pleasant to learn from but sometimes she could get so lost in her own head, talking about how constellations had predicted her own future that they could quite often spend half the lesson just listening to her stories than actually learning anything that might help them with their future exams. Their OWLs were a year closer and teachers were already beginning to place pressure on them, reminding them that the exams would help define the rest of their lives. In all honesty Gavin thought it was rather unfair to put that much pressure on a fifteen year-old but who was he to question the entire structure of the educational system? Nobody was exactly going to listen to his opinions about it. 

The highlight of Gavin's first few weeks back at school were the potions lessons. He fell back into an easy rhythm with Jeremy, whispering advice to each other even when Professor Oobleck asserted that their work had to be done individually. While Gavin could certainly see the benefits of independent work he had grown far too used to working with his friend and it had become something of a comfort blanket to him. Besides, Professor Oobleck was another teacher far too in wrapped up in his own to pay full attention to the class around him and that meant that Gavin felt perfectly free to communicate with those immediately around him.

Unfortunately there were few other teachers like Professor Oobleck on the staff meaning that he was forced to endure the “these are the most important years of your life” talk a number of times during the first lessons of the year. Gavin bit his tongue to stop himself from pointing out how unfair it was to expect fourteen year olds to have their whole futures sorted out because the last thing he needed was to start the year on a negative tone. He was determined to make this year as positive as possible and that meant holding back even when a comment threatened to launch out of him that he knew would cause issues.

By the time the posters advertising Ravenclaw’s annual Quidditch team try-outs were posted at the end of the second week Gavin was already exhausted. He craved sleep more than anything and yet he had two days to prepare for the try-outs despite having not flown since he’d been at Miles’ almost a month before. He didn’t feel too good about his chances of actually making it onto the team but he didn’t hesitate to write his name down on the list. Where was the harm in giving it a go?

“You not trying out this year?” Miles asked Barbara over breakfast the next morning. He was so occupied devouring the bowl of cereal before him that he failed to notice his friend sitting a little more rigidly after his comment.

“Nope,” she mumbled, before filling her mouth with toast as an excuse not to comment further.

Next to her, Cole shrugged. “That makes sense. I mean, you did have a pretty bad fall,” he pointed out in what he was probably hoping would be a helpful manner. Instead all it did was make Gavin wince and feel a pang of sympathy for Barbara. There had been a considerable lack of tact in his comment.

Thankfully before the situation could get any worse their Slytherin friends descended upon them to talk about their own Quidditch try-outs which had taken place the night before. Jeremy and Mica had both made it back onto the team, although Mica was slightly disgruntled by the fact she’d been pushed into the role of a Chaser as her role of Seeker had been taken over by Matt Peake, a stocky-built sixth year who had apparently spent his whole summer practicing. Trevor had joined them on the team as another of Slytherin’s chasers, meaning Gavin would now potentially have to worry about facing off against _three_ of his friends if he made it onto the team.

“You’ll do great,” Jeremy assured him while their other friends were wrapped up in conversation together. “I mean, Slytherin are still going to kick your ass but I’ve seen you fly. You’ll make it onto the team this year no problem.”

The other’s confidence brought a smile to Gavin’s face without even thinking about it. Somehow the other boy just had a way of causing those sort of reactions. Gavin really didn’t mind all that much.

 

_\- RT -_

 

Gavin wasn’t sure if his memory was just looking back with rose-coloured glasses on or the Quidditch try-outs the year before really had been less stressful but he wasn’t sure he’d ever been so close to passing out while on a broom. Ryan was a hard taskmaster, putting the thirty-something hopefuls through drill after drill and pushing them all to their very limits. Even Cole, easily the best flyer and most athletic among their small fourth-year group, was visibly struggling and it took every ounce of willpower inside of Gavin not to give up. This was an opportunity he had been waiting forever for and he wasn’t going to let it slip between his fingers.

The fact that one of his friends was now the Quidditch Captain was hardly all that comforting either. If anything it placed even more pressure on Gavin’s shoulders as he was determined to prove to Ryan that he was capable. He realized with some embarrassment that all he really wanted was for the older boy to be proud of him and that pushed him to work as hard as he possibly could to prove himself as a viable choice for the team.

By the time Ryan finally wrapped things up some two hours later the majority of the hopefuls were crouched over and gasping for breath, Gavin and his friends among them. A small crowd had gathered in the stands to cheer them on and a quick inspection confirmed that Jeremy was sat with Barbara and the rest of their Slytherin friends, all applauding and calling out in support. Gavin had been so focused on his flying that he had no idea how long they’d been there and silently hoped that they hadn’t witnessed his near-collision with Miles that he now feared would take him out of the running altogether.

The hopefuls waited in the packed-out locker room for what felt like forever while Ryan remained on the Quidditch pitch to make his decisions. Gavin tried to ignore the heavy thump of his heart against his chest but found it more distracting than anything else. Miles insisted on trying to make small talk but only Cole was answering and in half-hearted short sentences that easily betrayed his own anxiety.

When Ryan finally stepped into the locker room a hush quickly fell throughout the room. Gavin felt himself tense and was sure his friends either side of him did the same too. He couldn’t even bring himself to look Ryan in the eye so instead found himself staring at the older male’s boots.

“You all worked exceptionally hard,” he began, his voice as calm as ever. “I was impressed by all of you actually which is what made the decision take so long. This was as difficult on me as it was on you but I’m happy to say that I’ve picked my team and my reserves.” Whispers quickly travelled throughout the room before being hushed quiet. “It should surprise no-one but I’ll be remaining as Keeper,” he remarked light-heartedly, earning a few chuckles but not quite breaking the tension.

“Beaters are Gray Haddock and Miles Luna.” Considering they’d worked so well as a team the year before there was little surprise that Ryan had chosen them again and Gavin felt a rush of relief for his friend’s sake. Miles’ trademark grin was plastered back on his face in an instant as Cole clapped him on the back in congratulations.

“Chasers are Cole Gallian” - Cole let out an audible sigh of relief - “Jules Etheridge” - across the room one of the popular fifth-year girls began celebrating - “and Gavin Free.”

Gavin’s brain exploded with so much noise that he couldn’t even hear Ryan identify the team’s Seeker or reserves. He felt like he’d stepped straight into a dream where reality was bending in unpredictable ways because somehow, against all odds, he had made the team! He could feel both Miles and Cola grabbing him from either side, patting him on the back and cheering into his ears and yet all he could do was stare mutely ahead as he tried to process what had just happened.

_I made the team. I actually made the team!_

This was real. This was happening.

_Bloody hell._

 

_\- RT -_

 

Even over the summer and the beginning of the new school term Gavin hadn’t forgotten about Michael Jones’ strange behaviour at the end of the previous year. While he would never willingly call himself the other boy’s friend, Gavin couldn’t help but worry that there was something bigger going on and the Gryffindor boy had nobody to confide in. If his time at Hogwarts had taught him anything it was that he had a tendency to worry for other people more than he necessarily had to but Gavin wasn’t entirely sure that was a bad thing. He was just a little more empathetic than others.

Professor Schnee had insisted they remain in the same seating plan as in their third year which meant Gavin had the unimaginable pleasure of continuing to sit next to Michael. Thanks to the Ancient Runes professor’s totalitarian ways it wasn’t as if they had ay opportunities to speak with each other but Gavin still kept a close eye on the other, monitoring him as much as he could without drawing any attention to himself. The last thing he wanted was for Michael to think he had any special _interest_ in him. Gavin had fallen on the wrong side of Blaine Gibson’s band of idiot bullies before and he didn’t plan to let it happen again. They’d already caused enough issues for him and his friends.

“Why do you even care?” Miles asked when he expressed his concern about Michael over dinner one October evening. “The guy’s a dick.”

“I think it’s nice you care,” Jeremy chimed in before anybody else could get another word out. “It shows what kind of person you are.” Their eyes met after that, Jeremy’s shining with positivity as he beamed back at him. Gavin’s cheeks flushed with colour as he finally pulled his gaze away and did his best to fight back the grin that was threatening to burst free.

 

_\- RT -_

 

Quidditch. Gavin had only ever admired it from afar, wondering if his future would ever transition him from a simple fan to a member of his house team. Now that it had he couldn’t stop the nerves from creeping in, a voice in the back of his mind suggesting that he wasn’t ready for this. His logical brain suggested that the gruelling training regime Ryan had put the whole team through over the past six weeks had been good preparation but he still couldn’t shake the uncomfortable feeling twisting at his gut as he made his way down to breakfast on the morning of his very first game.

“You’ll be fine,” Jeremy assured him, apparently sensing his nerves almost immediately as he sat down. The Slytherin boy reached across the table to grab his hand. “In fact, you’ll be better than fine. You’ll be _great_!”

Gavin forced a smile onto his face that he didn’t quite agree with but it seemed to satisfy Jeremy in the meantime as he withdraw his hand. A number of other words of what was mostly support followed from the rest of his friends, ranging from sincere (“You’re going to kick ass out there, I know it!” from Lindsay) to teasing (“I have twenty sickles on you ending up in the hospital wing so I would appreciate it if you fell from your broom, thanks!” from Mica). _Well, I think she was teasing…_ It was always a little hard to tell with Mica.

Miles and Cole led the way down from the great hall to the Quidditch stadium and into the locker room where the rest of the team were getting psyched up for the first game of the year. After their rather dismal streak of near-misses in previous years they were all determined to kick as much ass out there as possible and Ryan’s rousing speech was enough to get them all cheering - even Gavin who was in something of a daze.

Just before they stepped out onto the pitch, the team captain stepped up beside him and clapped him on the shoulder, causing Gavin to snap out of his thoughts. “You nervous?” Ryan asked, smiling down at him. After a moment of consideration, Gavin nodded. “Good. I was nervous my first game too. Ended up only letting one shot in.”

“How many shots did they make?” Gavin was curious. Ryan had made his debut on the Quidditch team before he’d even started at the school after all.

“Twenty.”

There was something infectious about Ryan’s proud grin and when the blue drapes of the Ravenclaw stands began lifting up to allow them to walk onto the pitch Gavin surprised himself by feeling a little more confident. The roar of the crowds certainly helped and his heart leapt in his chest as he spied Jeremy at the very front of the Ravenclaw stands, a banner held up between him and Kdin that spelled out “Go Go Gavin!” in bright bronze lettering. It was somewhat garish to the eye and yet it was easily the most fantastic thing he’d ever seen, bringing out a laugh of surprise. Cole and Miles grinned as he pointed it out to them and clapped him on the back, muttering more words of encouragement.

The sensation of being in the air was hardly new to Gavin after he’d spent the last three years working hard to feel comfortable on a broom but there was something different about it now he was in a competitive environment. He knew his job and had plenty of experience placing a chaser with the rest of his team in practice but this was a real match against Hufflepuff and the stakes were much higher than they had been during practice matches against make-shift teams.

The moment the game began and Hufflepuff took possession, Gavin realized he was definitely underprepared. He found himself regularly being outsmarted by the opposing team’s chasers and hardly had the quaffle in his hands for seconds at one occasion before he had to pull a sharp and dramatic turn to avoid a bludger that resulted in him dropping possession of the quaffle straight into the hands of one of the Hufflepuff chasers.

“Come on guys, pick it up!” Ryan roared at the time as he blocked the sixth attempt at the Ravenclaw hoops in ten minutes, two of which had been successful. Gavin took the words to hard, desperate to prove himself but there was little he could do when every player on the Hufflepuff team was obviously much more skilled on the back of a broom than he was. Miles and Gray were working double time trying to sending the bludgers into the path of the Hufflepuff chasers but they were equally matched by the opposing beaters who were just as intent to knock some of the competition out. Every time Miles flew past him he could hear the other boy cursing but there was little enjoyment to find in it as Gavin too was just as frustrated at the state of the match.

The situation wasn’t entirely dire - Ravenclaw managed to gain possession of the quaffle a number of times and every time Gavin completed a pass to Cole or Jules he flushed with pride. They even scored a few goals but by the half an hour mark were running behind with only thirty points to Hufflepuff’s sixty. They wouldn’t go down without a fight though, not when they were all so thirsty for the win. Every time Gavin caught sight of his friends’ banner far below he was spurred on further, pushing himself to every limit he’d encountered in practice and working even harder than he thought was possible.

As such, Gavin was so focused in catching the quaffle that had just fallen from the grip of Caleb, one of Hufflepuff’s chasers, that he hardly registered Miles screaming his name. His hand had barely grasped around the red ball, moving back to tuck it under his shoulder when he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder that rapidly spread down his arm and across his upper chest.

The next thing he knew he was falling.

 

_\- RT -_

 

“Hey Gav, can I share a secret with you?” Jeremy asked, his face drawn into an uncharacteristic display of nervousness that took Gavin by surprise. After all just moments ago they had been making jokes about Miles’ latest accident in Potions class and suddenly Gavin’s heart was thumping louder in his chest and breathing felt like more of a chore than ever.

“Uh, sure. Of course!” he replied after a moment, surprised by how nervous he felt. He highly doubted that whatever Jeremy wanted to share was a _bad_ thing and yet he still couldn’t help but feel… strange.

Jeremy glanced either side, making sure nobody else in the hospital wing was paying attention to them before closing his eyes. Gavin could only frown, wondering exactly what the other boy was working himself up to do - only for Jeremy’s hair to begin changing colour right before his eyes! His average brunette lightened to an unnatural degree until it was bright green and Gavin’s jaw dropped.

“What-- how did you do that? I’ve never seen magic like that before!” he gasped, immediately reaching forward with his working arm to try and run his fingers through the other’s green hair.

“I’m a metamorphmagus,” he answered, as if that explained every question Gavin had, “Not a particularly strong one, mind, but… yeah.”

Jeremy’s hands were fidgeting in his lap and Gavin didn’t even stop to think before he moved his hand down to hold them. “I have no idea what a metamorphmagus is but I think it’s awesome,” he confirmed, smiling as brightly as he could manage. “Thank you for telling me.”

“I haven’t told anyone before,” Jeremy mumbled, glancing down to where their hands were clasped. “My dad said he was bullied at school for it. People thought he was a freak and I… well, I just wanted to be a normal kid, you know? I didn’t want people thinking I had this special power just because I can change my hair colour at will.”

Gavin remained silent, watching the other’s lips as he spoke and wondering just how somebody as beautiful as Jeremy could feel insecure over something such as this. “But you’re _not_ normal. You’re special,” he insisted without even thinking about it. “And not just because of this.”

Their gazes locked at that and finally Jeremy’s lips curved back up into his usual smile, a little more certain this time around. Gavin immediately mirrored it and squeezed down on Jeremy’s hands as a display of support. “Thanks Gav,” the other boy mumbled after a moment, his eyes glistening.

“Thank you for telling me,” he repeated quietly, even as his brain began to typically overthink the situation. Out of all of his friends, Jeremy had chosen to tell him first. That had to mean something, right? _Right?_

 

_\- RT -_

 

“We all know the only reason Free’s on the team is because he’s friends with Ryan.”

It wasn’t exactly the sort of statement Gavin had been expecting to hear as he walked into the common room one late November evening. He was tired from a long day of lessons and agitated after Professor Schnee had decided to critique his work out loud to the rest of the Ancient Runes class and felt damn close to breaking point. As such, when he heard the obnoxious voice of fifth year boy whose name he was fairly sure was Lawrence bringing up his name in a slanderous manner it was a miracle he didn’t pull out his wand there and then and hex the older boy.

Instead he fell incredibly still and remained behind the pillar where those partaking in the conversation wouldn’t notice his presence. He wasn’t sure _why_ but he wanted to hear what else was said about him.

“That or Haywood’s trying to sabotage the team,” another voice chimed in.

“Hey, maybe he struck a deal with Burnie. They used to be friends, right?” a third voice suggested, aggravating Gavin even more. There was absolutely no way Ryan was deliberately sabotaging their team and especially not because _Burnie Burns_ asked him to. They clearly didn’t know anything if they thought Ryan would willingly have a conversation with Burnie of all people considering the issues that had led him to become frosty towards anybody outside of their house.

“Jeez, and I thought Luna was bad enough,” Lawrence huffed, finally pushing Gavin over the edge. They could insult him and his poor performance in the match against Hufflepuff, sure, but going after Ryan and Miles too was simply a step too far. He wasn’t letting that happen unchecked.

Stepping out from his hiding place, Gavin felt a small smug satisfaction as he saw the mild panic pass over the faces of the three fifth-year boys. “You know, it’s funny that Miles has been on the team in some capacity for three years now and even though I’ve seen you three at every try-outs since then, none of you have made it on the team even once,” he snarled, feeling fury burning within him. “It’s almost as if he earned a place on the team and you didn’t. Funny that.”

“Do you make a point of eavesdropping on conversations that don’t concern you?” Lawrence asked snidely in return.

Gavin could only laugh. “Don’t concern me? You decided to shame me and my friends in conversation and that doesn’t ‘concern me’?” he asked, shaking his head. “Are you dumb or just ignorant?”

Lawrence jumped to his feet at that, hand moving towards his wand - only for Meg to step in between them. “Okay, break it up, boys,” she said, voice not leaving any room for argument. Feeling somewhat reassured, Gavin allowed his tense shoulders to relax and took a step back. “Somebody care explaining what’s going on?”

“Oh look, Haywood’s other bias pick. How convenient you show up,” Lawrence drawled, rolling his eyes. Gavin knew immediately what he was referring to. Meg was once again the Ravenclaw Seeker and even though she’d more than proven herself on the team the year before apparently some people thought she’d only been chosen because she was friends with Ryan, just like Gavin. _These people are ridiculous, honestly!_

“Sonntag, do I need to remind you that I’m a prefect and it’s probably not a good idea for you to piss me off?” Meg remarked sharply. Lawrence faltered at this, his lips thinning into a frown before he finally sighed.

“Okay, whatever. I’m _sorry_ ,” he sighed. There was nothing genuine about his words but Gavin was willing to take it as a minor victory. As Meg turned to glance at him he shrugged his shoulders and nodded. She gave him a small smile that told him he wasn’t the one in trouble and allowed him to walk away without feeling too ashamed of himself.

Mentally he made a note that in the next match he was going to have to prove to Lawrence just how wrong he was.

 

_\- RT -_

 

Gavin knew something was wrong the moment he walked down into the Ravenclaw common room from his dorm. Even at eight o’clock in the morning the place was usually bustling with activity or filled with the chatter of heated literary debates. That morning he was greeted by complete emptiness. There was something so chilling about the silence that provoked a shiver to rush down Gavin’s back and he had to fight the urge to run back up to his dorm and hide under the covers. For the first time in forever he had beaten both Cole and Miles out of bed although he had a feeling that their late night game of exploding snap had something to do with that. Now he felt a considerable urge to wake them and have company by his side a she confronted whatever strange situation was taking place.

Knowing that neither of the boys would thank him for waking them from their slumber, Gavin instead opted to leave Ravenclaw Tower by himself and begin his descent down from the seventh floor all the way to the great hall. He passed a number of other students on his travel and the twisting feeling in his gut only got worse as he saw their pale faces and heard the panicked whispers between first years. _Oh god, what now?_

Picking up his pace, Gavin all but ran down the last few staircases - making sure to jump over the the ghost step in one of them that would leave him seriously humiliated if he became trapped in it - and hurried towards the large open doors that led to the great hall. While it wasn’t uncommon for the teachers to be present over breakfast, the fact that Professor Goodwitch was stood at the lectern and was addressing the school certainly didn’t fill him with hope.

Not wanting to draw attention to himself, Gavin hurried towards the first friendly faces he spotted - namely Chris Demarais and Kerry Shawcross sat near the back of the Hufflepuff table. He took his place next to them and peered around the room, taking in all of the confused and terrified faces. “What’s going on?” he hissed, a sense of dread beginning to set in.

“Another attack on the ministry,” Chris explained, his voice shaking. “Taurus _drained_ two people.”

“Drained?” Gavin repeated, remembering what Jeremy’s parents had told him after the first attack on the ministry. Having your magic ripped out of you, leaving you all but brainless… another shiver passed through him just from thinking about it. “Oh my god. Is that all?”

“Three dead,” Kerry added, looking equally as morose. “This is bad, Gavin. Real bad.”

_You don’t need to tell me twice_. Terror and dread had already begun to creep in as Gavin wondered how this would affect them. His eyes scanned the teacher’s table at the head of the room and he wasn’t all that surprised to discover that Professor Ozpin was absent, likely at the ministry to discuss what they were going to be doing to protect the school. The thought that Adam Taurus might try and attack the school… No, he couldn’t let himself think about that. A quick glance around suggested that everybody else already was but they needed to stay strong. They couldn’t give into blind panic no matter how easy it would be.

Professor Goodwitch was already wrapping up her speech by the time Gavin finally tuned into what she was saying. He was too distracted looking for the rest of his friends, spying Barbara sat with Jeremy and the others far down the Slytherin table. Neither of the other Ravenclaw boys had shown up yet and Gavin really didn’t want to be the one to break the news to them. This wasn’t easy for anybody to hear.

Almost the moment the deputy headmistress finished speaking the great hall lit up with a loud buzz of manic discussions from the students. Gavin forced himself to sit on his hands to stop them from shaking and instead of tuning into Chris and Kerry’s discussions, contented himself to looking around the hall. His eyes finally fell on a familiar group of boys sat nearby on the Gryffindor table and immediately felt a pang of concern the moment his gaze finally caught sight of Michael. The other boy was shockingly pale and still, completely ignoring the heated discussion from Blaine and his other cronies that raged around him.

_This isn’t nothing. Something’s going on_. Gavin couldn’t help but remember how tense Michael had looked around his father on Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters at the end of the last year. He remembered the way the other boy’s hands shook during that Ancient Runes lesson all those months ago. They had to be connected, didn’t they? Pieces of a puzzle that built up a grizzly image he wasn’t sure he even wanted to complete. Either way, there was definitely something wrong with Michael Jones and Gavin couldn’t bring himself to just ignore it.

It didn’t take long for issues to escalate. Tensions were running high among the student body and Gavin wasn’t sure he’d ever seen so many tearful faces in such a short space of time. Unfortunately attitudes on the other end of the spectrum were just as heightened and it wasn’t all that surprising to discover that Blaine was the one whose anger had escalated past the point of reasonable behavior.

He just hadn’t expected Michael to be at the receiving end of that anger.

Duels weren’t exactly uncommon between the students - although they were definitely punishable by detention - but Gavin couldn’t remember ever witnessing one as brutal as this. Hex after jinx shot out of the tip of Blaine’s wand as he whipped his arm back and forth furiously. Michael was strictly on the defensive, casting one protective charm after another.

A small crowd had gathered around them in the Transfiguration courtyard and nobody seemed willing to risk Blaine’s ire by getting involved. As much as Gavin wanted to believe that Blaine was all talk, this was no meager display of magic and it made him furious to think that the other boy had the nerve to think he could get away with it. Unfortunately there were no teachers around to break it up and Michael looked like he was faltering, staggering back with every close-call.

“ _Expelliarmus!_ ” Gavin found himself acting without thought, surging forward and outstretching his wand arm. The spell made contact in seconds, sending Blaine’s wand flying out of his hand and clattering down to the grass some feet away.

Moments later the realization of what he’d just done sunk in and immediately Gavin’s heart began to race. He’d just picked a fight with Blaine Gibson over something he didn’t even know the whole story for. Everything about it read ‘bad idea’ and yet he couldn’t take it back now, especially not given the animalistic look in Blaine’s eyes as he rounded on him.

Thankfully before he could risk the full fury of the Gryffindor boy Professor Port descended upon the situation and broke it up to placing himself between them. The crowd around them quickly dispersed, fearing punishment, but the three boys stayed locked in a triangle and Gavin was far too tense to consider making the first move by announcing his innocence.

“This was _his_ fault,” Blaine spat, finger pointed straight at Michael. “You know who is father is, professor! Who he’s friends with!” The words were twisted with more cruelty than Gavin had expected of even Blaine and he found himself instinctively glancing towards Michael, wondering exactly what about Mr Jones had the other so riled up. _What does he mean “who he’s friends with?”_

Professor Port was not the type of man who angered easily but Blaine’s comments caused his lips to twitch and cheeks to flush with colour. “Gibson, as the aggressor you’ll follow me to my office. Jones, Free, somebody will be along to talk to you in a moment. Wait here,” he boomed in his usual bravado. Gavin couldn’t help but feel like there was a slight strain to the teacher’s voice though and it only made him more curious.

As Blaine was led off all but kicking and screaming, the two other boys remained in uncomfortable silence. There was so much that Gavin wanted to say and yet he didn’t dare speak. Michael was volatile at the best of times - rumour had it his temper was something to avoid at all costs - and after being beaten down by Blaine he was more than likely in a worse mood than ever.

“I didn’t need you to save me,” the other boy croaked out, catching Gavin by surprise. He stared at the Gryffindor boy, eyes wide and mouth slightly ajar, wondering exactly what he should say. Michael might not think that he needed the help but from Gavin’s perspective it had been the only safe option to take in order to prevent the boy from serious injury.

Before he could even begin to formulate a response Gavin was ushered back into silence by the arrival of Professor Goodwitch. “Follow me, boys,” she ordered, her voice icy and firm. They immediately fell into place behind her as they began their march towards the her office. Every student they passed turned to look at them and whispers lined their path but for once Gavin wasn’t worried about being the subject of their gossip. He was worried _Michael_ was. What were people saying about him?

Stepping into Professor Goodwitch’s office, Gavin did his best to remind himself that there was no reason he should end up in major trouble. All he had done was attempt to break up the escalating situation and he had a number of witnesses to attest to that. As for Michael… well, Gavin wasn’t sure why he was even so worried. It wasn’t as if they were friends. The only contact they had was sitting together in Ancient Runes and that was hardly the foundation for a positive relationship between them.

“Sit down,” she instructed, closing the door behind them with a wave of her wand before taking her place behind the desk. “Explain yourselves. Now.”

When Michael didn’t respond, Gavin took it upon himself to explain his role. “I only arrived at the end. I saw Blaine attacking Michael here and I cast a disarming spell on him. I was only trying to break things up, honest.”

Professor Goodwitch’s sharp gaze moved across to Michael and after several long seconds he let out a sigh and nodded. “It’s true. He doesn’t need to be here,” he confirmed, much to Gavin’s surprise. He’d almost expected the Gryffindor boy to jump at the chance to get him into trouble.

“Are you two friends?” the professor asked, catching both boys by surprise. They shared an incredulous look before quickly shaking their heads. “Hmm, very well. Free, you’re welcome to leave.”

“Thank you Professor,” he mumbled, rising from his seat. He spared one final glance at Michael whose gaze was now firmly fixed on the desk before hurrying out of the office as fast as reasonably possible. He had no great love of being under question from people of authority, even when he wasn’t the one in trouble. Besides, he hadn’t had the chance to talk to any of his close friends and after the chaos of the morning he was desperate to.

It took some time to track them down but finally he found them gathered in an otherwise abandoned classroom, all sat in a circle with their legs outstretched in a pile. A rush of relief spread through Gavin at the sight and the events of the morning were all but forgotten as he hurried forward to join them.

Jeremy was the first to react, shuffling to the side to make room for him and the two boys shared a tender smile as Gavin sunk down to the ground in between him and Lindsay. It was once he was firmly seated that he noticed what they were all gathered around: a deluxe box of Bertie Botts’ Every Flavour Beans. He raised a curious eyebrow, glancing to the likely culprit that was Miles.

“It seemed like a good distraction,” the other boy suggested, shrugging his shoulders. Gavin chuckled, nodding in agreement. After the news that morning, a silly distraction like a pack of Every Flavour Beans was exactly the kind of distraction they all desperately needed. The outside world could have been entirely falling apart outside of those walls for all they cared because it hardly even mattered when they had little moments together like this.

“Alright, gimme one,” he requested, unable to fight the grin from his face. “My luck can’t be worse than last time. Vomit, earwax and snot all in a row… Colour me hopeful and-- nope, dog food.”

Gavin couldn’t help but keep grinning even while spluttering in disgust as his friends roared with laughter. He couldn’t really blame them - considering the pressure of that morning laughter really did feel like the best medicine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awfully sorry for the long wait between chapters - life got busy! Hopefully I can get back to regular writing/uploading soon!


	6. Fourth Year, Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin finally gets Michael to open up.

“You’re staying here for Christmas?” Barbara asked, staring at him with a look in her eyes that was halfway between confusion and jealousy. Given her issues with her mother had apparently not alleviated much over the last year Gavin had an impression it was probably more of the latter.

“Uh, yeah. Parents have decided to take a trip for just them,” Gavin lied, forcing a casual smile on his face to hide the guilt he felt in lying. He’d lied to his parents about his reasons for staying at Hogwarts over the Christmas break too, telling them that he was desperate to experience a magical Christmas sooner rather than later and although it took a fair amount of convincing he was finally able to get them on board with him staying there.

The truth of the matter was that he had heard Michael was going to be staying in the castle over the Christmas break and given the majority of parents were desperate to pull their students out of school given the current safety concerns, he was going to be one of the only fourth years staying which would give Gavin the perfect opportunity to find out what was going on with him. He wasn’t sure why he cared so much but he was concerned that Michael wasn’t getting the help he needed and as the other boy was now more of a loner than ever, he needed all the company he could get.

While Gavin had previously kept his eye on Blaine’s Gryffindor clique purely so he could stay away from them, now he found himself watching them more closely to see how they treated Michael. Much to his surprise they all but ignored the other’s presence, not even glancing in his direction as he sat down a questionable distance away from them at the Gryffindor table for dinner. There was something very strange going on with the lot of them and he couldn’t just ignore it.

The others glanced at him curiously but nobody else drew attention to it, moving on to talk about their own Christmas season plans. Cole’s family were taking a trip to a small magical village up in Finland while Miles was planning to go camping with his siblings on Boxing Day. Barbara had every intention of avoiding her parents and Mica was hoping that her parents had bought her new winter flying robes so that she could get some more Quidditch practice in. Kdin, Trevor and Lindsay would all be celebrating with big family meals the same as every year and shared enthused discussions about the weird and wonderful food their Christmas dinners usually involved.

Gavin found himself listening intently, a smile on his face as he pressed himself against Jeremy’s side. There was no conscious thought behind the move  in fact he hardly noticed he was doing it - but as their eyes locked and smiles mirrored, Gavin’s heart skipped a beat. Once again he found himself wondering how he could have possibly ended up lucky enough to have a guy like Jeremy for a friend. _That’s some luck alright_.

 

_\- RT -_

The presumption that there would be very few fourth years remaining at the school over the Christmas period turned out to be far more accurate than Gavin had expected it to be. In fact, out of everybody in their year only him and Michael were staying behind and suddenly Gavin began to feel like something of a stalker. He could have been enjoying the festive period with his family and yet he was choosing to give that up in favour of trying to work out exactly what was going on with Michael.

Only sixteen students remained in the school altogether. Sixteen out of just over two-hundred students and this made Gavin feel slightly alarmed by his own reckless decision. If he didn’t make any progress with Michael then he was in for a very lonely two weeks alone.

Thankfully it didn’t take long. Seemingly overnight the four house tables and the staff table had vanished from the great hall, replaced by one long table that would force the remaining sixteen students and handful of teachers to sit together. Michael was already present, eyes downcast as he munched on a bowl of cereal. Seeing his opportunity, Gavin quickly took a seat opposite the Gryffindor boy.

“Morning,” he mumbled, flashing Michael a small smile. The only response was a frown and a narrowing of the other’s eyes. _Okay, great start,_ he lamented. Then again, shouldn’t he have expected as much? His time sitting next to Michael in class had revealed that the other was hardly the type to open up. Even Cole had said as much from the time he’d spent as an honorary member of Blaine’s Gryffindor clique in their second year.

Despite knowing that he would be pushing his luck, Gavin was determined not to let himself sit in silence. He had given up a comfortable family Christmas out of his concern for the other boy and he wasn’t going to let that sacrifice be for nothing. “I’ve never done a Christmas here before. Have you?” he asked pleasantly, smiling with a little more confidence across the table.

“Why are you talking to me?” Michael grunted out after a moment of hesitation.

“Not much choice.” Gavin glanced from side-to-side, barely acknowledging the pair or Hufflepuff second-years to his left or the Slytherin seventh year on his right. “I must be better company than none at all, right?”

Michael snorted and shrugged a shoulder, neither confirming nor denying Gavin’s statement. He’d take that as a minor victory at least.

“You didn’t answer either of my questions,” he pointed out after a moment, not stopping to flinch even as Michael fired a glare in his direction. “Hogwarts. Christmas. Have you done it before?”

Truth be told Gavin was half expecting to be ignored and as such as he was rather surprised when the other mumbled a quiet, “No.” And then, as if that wasn’t enough of a gift: “I’m not a big fan of Christmas.”

 _Not a big fan of Christmas? Michael Jones, who are you?_ Gavin was sure glad that he’d learned how to control himself when it came to unwanted outbursts because he had a feeling that it would only increase the chances of the other boy shutting him out for good. No, he needed to approach the conversation much more carefully than his initial thought was to. “Oh, how come?” he asked softly, eyeing Michael closely in case of any physical reaction.

“None of your business,” the other fired back without missing a beat. Gavin knew when a wall was being put up to block him out and there was a fire in Michael’s eyes that warned him of just how close to dangerous territory he was.

“Fair enough,” he muttered, choosing to finally relent. It was only day one after all and he didn’t want to scare the other off too soon. There was still another thirteen days to go and Gavin was determined to get something out of Michael by then. The other boy was about to find out that he could be as stubborn as any Gryffindor when he wanted to be.

 

_\- RT -_

 

By day five Gavin had made considerable progress - if sitting in silence with Michael for several hours a day could be considered progress. More often than not they sat at the same table in the library, both with Ancient Runes textbooks open in front of them and the only noise coming from the scratching of their quills against the parchment. Professor Schnee had assigned them a rather gruelling essay to complete over the winter break and Gavin had learned the hard way not to leave any of Schnee’s homework until the last minute. Every now and then they would exchange questions and answers but it was only ever about the work. That was still building up as close to a rapport as they could manage so Gavin didn’t think he was entirely foolish for considering it a success.

It was a sad matter of fact that was so focused on his mission to make Michael open up to him that he’d almost forgotten that it was Christmas Eve until he overheard excited first-year Ravenclaws chattering away about it over breakfast that morning. Immediately he flushed with shame as he realized that he’d forgotten to send home to Christmas gifts home that he’d brought his parents during their last Hogsmeade trip and quickly excused himself from the relatively quiet breakfast table to make his way to the Owlery.

The last thing Gavin had been expecting to find when he finally made his way up the snow-covered staircase was the familiar silhouette of Michael framed beside one of the many large open archways. Even in his winter robes Michael was shivering and despite the amount of noise Gavin had made during his ascent to the tower the other boy didn’t turn to acknowledge of his entry. Almost immediately the Ravenclaw boy could tell there was something wrong and it left him feeling somewhat anxious for what he would find.

“Everything alright, Michael?” he asked, trying to keep his voice light-hearted. The cold chill of the wind was biting and Gavin’s body was protesting at how little protection his winter robes and gloves granted him but his strong sense of empathy prohibited him from simply attaching the parcels to an owl and sending it off as quickly as possible. If there was a situation going on then he couldn’t just ignore it.

“Why do you care?” came the bitter response. Michael finally pulled himself away from the archway, turning to reveal red circles around his eyes that spoke stories of what the other boy was currently going through. _Bloody hell. I didn’t even know Gryffindors were capable of crying_. Somehow even just making a joke about it in his head made Gavin feel guilty. “Seriously, what is it to you what I’m going through?”

Gavin didn’t have an immediate response. Why did he care so much? He wasn’t sure if even he knew the answer. “You… Nobody deserves to go through crap on their own,” he replied meekly, trying to be as careful as possible.

“Right, because I have no friends anymore,” Michael clarified, laughing bitterly. The laugh echoed in Gavin’s mind, sending shivers down his spine and causing him to frown. “Guess I need Ravenclaw’s biggest idiot to come to my rescue, right?”

“That’s not nice.” It was a lame defence but Gavin was trying to reel himself in. He wouldn’t be any good to Michael if he let himself rise to the bait. “I’m not here to ‘rescue’ you, I just don’t like the thought of anybody suffering alone. Whatever it is you’re going through, it’s not healthy to do it without anybody by your side.”

The two boys stood in silence after that, each shivering from the cold winter air. Gavin hoped that they could eventually move the discussion inside but considering the tension of the moment he wasn’t sure how well a suggestion like that would go across. He could suffer a little bit of cold if it meant Michael would finally start opening it up to him. Couldn’t he see that Gavin only wanted to help?

“I don’t need anyone,” Michael spat. The words were laced with his typical anger but it was easy to read into them and see the desperation underneath. Gavin’s recoil was far less about becoming subject to the other’s ire and more concerning just how _damaged_ the other boy was exposing himself as being. “I don’t need you, I don’t need Blaine, I don’t need-- Just… this doesn’t concern you, okay?”

“Why was Blaine attacking you?” Gavin asked in a surprising moment of daring. He knew he was pushing his luck and yet he couldn’t help it. Michael was tearing himself apart and he needed somebody to open up to whether he realized that or not. “What did he mean about your father?”

Of all the reactions Gavin expected from the other boy, having his wind suddenly whipped right out in front of his face took him by surprise. Instinctively he flinched, closing his eyes tightly for a moment and taking a step back. “Go away, Gavin. _Please_.” There it was again - that desperation. It couldn’t be ignored even if Michael wanted it to be.

“I want to _help_ , Michael! Let me help!”

“I swear to god I will hex you so bad your friends don’t even recognize you.”

“Michael--”

“Leave me alone!” The words came out as a roar worthy of any lion, completely wiping away any desire of Gavin’s to continue the conversation. This was neither the time nor the place for it.

As Michael stormed forward, Gavin simply stood aside and didn’t make any attempts to follow. If the other didn’t want his help then so be it. At least nobody could say that he hadn’t even tried.

 

_\- RT -_

 

Christmas Day passed with suffocating silence. Gavin made himself friendly to the few older-year students over the special dinner prepared by the school’s cooks and did his best not to make eye contact with Michael who purposefully sat himself at the very end of the table, far away from anybody who could potentially engage him in conversation. It was a sad sight to behold but Gavin knew better than to try again when his last attempt to try and help the other had ended in him being chewed out so dramatically. No, he had tried his best but clearly it wasn’t to be.

The days that followed after were so quiet that Gavin felt like he was going out of his mind. He’d completed all of his homework and finished reading _Ancient Runes Made Even Easier_ which left him at a loose end. He didn’t feel like practicing Quidditch without the rest of his team, especially not considering the level of snow that had quilted the entire school grounds. Winter had never really been Gavin’s favourite time of year - he much preferred those days when the sun was shining bright in the sky and they could lay themselves out on the grass to soak up the good weather. Right now those days seemed like worlds away.

Curled up in the alcove by the window of the very same empty classroom he’d found his friends in weeks before, Gavin stared up the moonlight and rest his head back against the stone wall. It was becoming increasingly clear that he had made a mistake choosing to stay at the castle. He missed his family, he missed his friends… _Bad idea, Free. Bad bloody idea_.

“Gavin?”

The voice broke the peaceful silence so suddenly that Gavin almost fell out of the alcove in shock. His conversations had been so limited in the last few days that any unprompted conversation seemed like it must be a mistake. There was no mistaking that it had been his name being spoken from the direction of the door, nor was there any mistaking the voice that had said it. _Michael_.

Having written off his attempts to build bridges to the other boy, Gavin had expected Michael to ignore him for the duration of the break and even further so his presence in the empty classroom was something of a surprise to say the very least. In fact he was almost certain of the fact he must be dreaming because after their last discussion why would Michael even want to talk to him? He could have easily left the room while Gavin was distracted but instead he’d opted to initiate a conversation and that was an even more confusing option.

“What are you doing here?” he asked warily, uncertain of how he was supposed to be feeling about Michael’s sudden presence in the room.

“Looking for you.” Michael’s hands were shoved deep into the pocket of his jeans and he remained by the door, making neither any moves to approach or leave.

“How’d you find me?” There were a lot of empty classrooms in the school after all and it wasn’t as if he’d ever had a conversation with Michael about where he liked to hang out. They weren’t nearly friendly enough for that.

“A lot of looking,” Michael shot back, a wry smile on his face. It seemed so unlike his character that Gavin couldn’t help but consider his dream theory again. It was certainly starting to sound more and more likely given the situation.

Instead of asking another question, Gavin merely waited. Michael had been the one to come looking for him so surely he had something to say - unless he just wanted to resume sitting in awkward silence with him again. Either way Gavin was done putting the effort in trying to get the other boy to open up at risk of his own happiness. If Michael had something he wanted to talk about then Gavin didn’t see why he should have to coax it out of him.

“I don’t like Christmas because my mum died on Christmas morning when I was six,” he announced, his voice somehow remaining totally neutral despite the weight of his words. “It’s just… it’s the worst time of year. I _hate_ it.”

The announcement had certainly made Gavin pay attention. He sat up a little straighter and swung his legs around to open up room on the alcove. Michael seemed to take that as permission to approach and hurriedly did so, avoiding eye contact with the Ravenclaw boy until he had curled up in the alcove with him.

“I’m sorry, I had no idea,” Gavin apologized softly, admiring how the moonlight fell on one side of Michael’s face through the windows. He couldn’t help but notice that when Michael’s face wasn’t contorted with anger or disgust it was actually rather handsome. It was likely only his frequently sullen attitude that kept the girls - and yes, possibly some of the boys - away. “That’s horrible.”

“I’ve never really told anybody that before,” Michael confessed, biting down on his lower lip. A dark expression coloured his face, dripping with sadness rather than the anger that had become so synonymous with the quiet Gryffindor boy.

Gavin watched patiently to see if he had anything else to say but nothing was forthcoming. Had it been a closer friend to make the confession he would have reached out and embraced them in an instant but he didn’t want to push his luck, not when Michael was seemingly beginning to open up to him.

“How much do you know about the Taurus family?” Michael asked suddenly, seemingly diverting the conversation entirely. Gavin frowned but opted to follow along rather than try and delve further into Michael’s feelings about his own feelings. At this point he would take any opening he could get.

“Not much, really. Downside of being a Muggle-born I guess,” he pointed out, shrugging his slender shoulders. Everything he’d heard about Adam Taurus had been from Jeremy’s parents, the gossip he’d heard around Ravenclaw Tower or from brief glimpses at the Daily Prophet when he was bored enough to pick up a copy. “I know that he’s bad.”

A hollow laugh escaped Michael’s lips. “Adam? Yeah, he’s something. His dad though? His dad was even worse.”

“I’ve never heard about his father before.” Gavin couldn’t help but be inquisitive. Considering the magical world were up in arms about how dangerous Adam Taurus was, the thought of somebody even worse preceding him felt a punch to the gut.

“Anton Taurus. He started off as just another Death Eater that got away after Voldemort’s defeat. The aurors chased him for years but by the time he’d caught up he’d pulled a number of other wizards and witches in with him. People thought the war was going to pick back up, that he was some new ‘dark lord’ here to establish his reign,” Michael explained, staring out of the window and across the school grounds. Gavin waited for the rest of the story patiently, a twisting feeling in his stomach keeping him on edge. “He only lasted a few months before being taken down but it was brutal. He threatened to rip the magic right outta people - those he didn’t kill, anyway. There was no proof he could do it but people… well, they were shit-scared. I mean who wouldn’t be?”

A long period of silence fell after that. Gavin was beginning to wonder just how to react when Michael let slip another slice of information, much more crucial than the rest: “My-- my father was… a fan. A big fan.”

Gavin gasped. He couldn’t help it, even if he felt guilty at the flash of pain that crossed Michael’s face. “Oh Michael,” he sighed, reaching out and wrapping his hand around the other’s wrist as the Gryffindor’s hands began to shake. “That’s why Blaine attacked you, isn’t it?”

“I shouldn’t be telling you this,” the other boy muttered, staring at his own knees. He hadn’t made eye contact in minutes. “You’re going to get in trouble. You’re going to get _hurt_. I shouldn’t be telling anyone.”

“Your father’s working with Adam, isn’t he?”

The silence was all the response Gavin needed.

“Bloody hell, Michael. I’m so sorry. That’s-- Merlin’s beard, that’s mental. I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?” Michael asked, his voice more downcast than Gavin had ever heard it before. “It’s not your fault.”

“But this isn’t the kind of position you should be in. You’re fourteen, Michael. You shouldn’t have to keep secrets like this,” Gavin assured the other, ignoring how quickly his heart was beating in his chest.

Michael’s gaze finally lifted and Gavin was hardly surprised to find the other’s eyes glassy and his cheeks wet from tears. “There was never any concrete proof that my father supported Anton but I knew. I think everybody knew. That’s all anybody thinks of him anymore. It’s all they think of _me_.”

“That’s not you though! You’re not… you’re not your father and you’re not whoever Blaine says you are! I know this might sound crazy coming from me of all people but you’re a good person underneath all that scowling and frowning. You don’t deserve to have people treating you like _you_ were responsible for those attacks on the ministry. You didn’t do it, even if your father did!” Gavin hadn’t even realized just how sure he was of what he was saying until the words had left his mouth. He didn’t regret them at all though because he knew they were both right and exactly what Michael needed to hear. This wasn’t on him at all, no matter how much he thought it was.

“Why are you being nice to me?” the other boy asked after an extended period of silence - this time a little calmer than the uncomfortable bouts of silence they had become used to.

“Believe it or not I’m not the devil,” Gavin joked, shaking his head. “No matter what Blaine bloody Gibson says about me. Us Ravenclaws care about more than just books.”

The corners of Michael’s lips twitched into what threatened to be a smile and that was reassurance enough for Gavin. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what sort of mental and emotional torment the other had been going through over the past few weeks, blaming himself for the deaths of those people in the ministry and feeling like he deserved every bit of grief being thrown his way.

“I’ve met him, you know. Taurus,” Michael declared in a quiet voice. It was enough to cause Gavin to pause but not back down. He couldn’t do that now that the other boy had confided in him.

“Oh yeah?”

Michael nodded. “He’s intense but not… if you met him on the street you’d never know how _fucked up_ he really is underneath. He’s charming - a real Gilderoy Lockhart type. If he wasn’t a terrorist he’d probably find some way to make all the women throw themselves at him,” he joked in macabre fashion. “He never talks to me but I’m pretty sure it’s only a matter of time before my dad tries to pull me in to help and I-- I don’t want it. Fuck, Gav, I hate being at home. I hate being near _him_.”

“Michael, if you know where he is then you need to tell someone! Tell the ministry or-- or Ozpin. You could save people’s lives!” Gavin urged, his heartbeat racing.

“I don’t know where he is, he just shows up sometimes. My dad never lets me hear them talk - I think he’s scared that I’m too _soft_ ,” he explained, gaze dropping back down to his still-shaking hands. “He says I’ve got too much of mum in me.”

“That’s a good thing,” Gavin assured him. “No offense but your dad sounds like a grade-A dick. I’d hope you’re more like your mum, honestly.”

The near-smile returned to Michael’s face for a fleeting moment and Gavin found himself smiling sadly. He’d known there was _something_ wrong with Michael but he could never have guessed just how messed up it would be and now he felt more sympathetic than ever. Without waiting for permission from the other, he surged forward and wrapped his arms around the other’s shoulders.

“What-- what are you doing?” Michael asked in a startled voice.

“Hugging you,” Gavin replied instantly. “Trust me, you need it.”

There were no arguments back to that.

 

_\- RT -_

 

The rest of the winter break passed by in what felt like an instant after that. Gavin spent almost every waking moment of his days with Michael, either in the library or in the empty classroom Gavin had apparently claimed for himself and his friends. He wasn’t sure either of the boys was quite ready to refer to each other as ‘friends’ but they were certainly confidants and Gavin was more than happy with that role.

“I really think you need to tell Ozpin,” Gavin urged, refusing to let the conversation they’d been having for the past few days go. If a person of authority like their headteacher knew that Michael was being raised by somebody who supported a known terrorist then they’d be able to do something about it. The longer he stayed silent, the more at risk he put himself and yet he refused to hear it. Michael was determined to keep his father’s secret for some godforsaken reason and it was driving Gavin crazy. He simply couldn’t understand why.

“Hey, do you uh-- fuck, I can’t believe I’m about to ask this but is it cool if I sit with you and your friends for a bit when classes start back up?” Michael asked suddenly, immediately side-tracking Gavin’s thoughts. It had honestly been the last thing he’d expected the Gryffindor boy to bring up but now that he stopped to think about it he supposed it made sense. Things between Michael and Blaine had hardly ended with a positive note and that probably meant a sizeable portion of Gryffindor house would be looking down on Michael as a black sheep. Depending on how many people knew about Mr Jones’ affiliation with the Taurus family then that opinion could possibly spread even further which meant that Michael very likely had a rough few months ahead of him, especially if Taurus’ attacks continued with more intensity.

“What?” Gavin asked, his brain still trying to catch up to the surprise question.

“Forget it,” Michael grumbled, quickly avoiding his gaze, “It was stupid to ask.” Darkness began to cloud over the other’s face, immediately pointing out that Gavin’s confusion was giving of the wrong impression. It wasn’t as if he didn’t want Michael sitting with him or his friends, he just hadn’t even expected him to ask. Everything he knew about Michael suggested he was too proud to do something like that.

“Wait, no, no! It’s fine, I was just-- I was surprised. Of course it’s cool. Totally fine, absolutely!” _Hopefully_. There was a slight possibility that Gavin’s overreaction was to reassure both Michael and himself, after all it wasn’t as if any of his friends knew what the other boy was going through and it was hardly Gavin’s place to tell them. He felt fairly certain of the fact that Michael wouldn’t be telling them either which would make things slightly complicated but that was a hurdle they’d climb over when they got to it. Gavin was sure he could come up with some excuse for why one of his former rivals was now sitting with them for three meals a day.

The time for an explanation came much sooner than Gavin realized it would as the last few days of winter break wrapped up and the rest of the student body finally arrived back at the castle. Gavin and Michael were seated at the Ravenclaw table (the house tables had returned that morning, much to their relief) for lunch as the first batch of arrivals entered. Among that group were Miles and Trevor who quickly made their way over. A simple glance in Miles’ direction confirmed that the other was definitely confused about Michael’s presence but thankfully there was no immediate attempt to hex him for daring to sit on the Ravenclaw table.

“Good Christmas?” Gavin asked, wrapped an arm around Miles’ shoulders in a quick embrace. Miles was definitely the most physically affectionate person he knew and while that had taken a while to get used to at first, it was now so familiar to him that he missed it whenever the other boy wasn’t around.

“Pretty decent. My folks kept ragging on me because I didn’t drag you over,” the other boy sighed, a fond smile covering his face. “How about you? What was this place like?”

“Quiet. Only really had Michael here for company,” Gavin explained, nodding his head towards his original company.

“I don’t think we’ve ever spoken before,” Trevor announced, holding a hand out towards Michael. “I’m Trevor. Slytherin, obviously. Nice to see other houses invading the blues.” A charming smile decorated the Slytherin boy’s face and Gavin couldn’t help but chuckle, not at all surprised by his actions. Despite his house’s reputation Trevor was as charming as could possibly be and had always been one of the most open to meeting new people out of all of Jeremy’s friends. _Thank god Mica wasn’t the first to turn up_. That could have had explosive results because as much as Gavin thought she was fun to hang out with, the girl was very much set in her ways and if she’d decided that somebody was her enemy then it would take a damn lot of hard work to change her mind.

Michael extended his hand, clasping Trevor’s and shaking it firmly. “Guess so,” he mumbled, surprisingly shy in the presence of new people. “Nice to meet you.” Gavin watched the exchange curiously, wondering exactly how Michael had interacted with his own friends before. Maybe he’d ask Cole about it at some point.

Miles was quick to steer the conversation towards some of the bizarre gifts he’d received from his extended family for Christmas and Gavin listened eagerly, as confused and amazed as ever by the weird and wonderful Luna family. Miles’ parents had even sent him a hamper of magical candy - very little of which was still untouched up in the Ravenclaw boys’ dorm room.

As the clock ticked past four in the afternoon more arrivals began to flood into the great hall, bringing a number of their friends with them. Cole, Kdin, Lindsay and Mica all but skipped between the tables to join them, each casting curious glances towards Michael but none of them addressing it aside from Cole who placed himself down next to the Gryffindor boy and began recounting stories of the exploding snap tournament he’d been to a few days prior.

Despite having the majority of his friends around him, Gavin couldn’t help but keep his eyes on the door in anticipation of the next arrivals. His contact with Jeremy had been limited over the break and it had made him miss the other even more. He had grown so used to their private moments together that he felt like an addict going through withdrawal symptoms. As nice as hanging out with Michael over the past few days had been, Jeremy was the one he’d really wanted to spend the past few weeks alone with.

The last batch of arrivals wouldn’t wander through the doors of the great hall until six o’clock by which point the dinner feast had already begun and Gavin was suitably distracted. While it would never compare to his mother’s cooking, he wasn’t sure he’d ever tasted anything at Hogwarts that he hadn’t enjoyed. He had no idea how the cooks were making everything but he wasn’t entirely certain that they weren’t secretly slipping some sort of taste potion into every single meal. It seemed like a somewhat logical possibility.

“Is that… Barbara?” Lindsay gasped suddenly, drawing Gavin’s attention away from the sausage casserole he was in the middle of enjoying. He glanced up to see a small crowd wondering through the doors of the great hall, a number of them heading towards the Ravenclaw table including a girl with a familiar face but very unfamiliar brown hair.

“Happy new year, guys!” Barbara greeted them, pushing her hair behind her shoulders as she took a place between Mica and Lindsay. The girls immediately took to grilling her about her new hair colour but Gavin’s attention was side-tracked by the firm hand slapping down on his shoulder.

Miles shuffled to the side, forcing everybody on his other side to shift too, in order to make room for Jeremy. The Slytherin boy took his place, beaming at Gavin as he wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him in for a quick side-hug. “I missed you, buddy,” he whispered into Gavin’s ear, provoking a flush of colour across Gavin’s cheeks.

“Missed you too,” he murmured as he pulled away, unable to hide the fond smile on his lips. As he turned away he caught sight of Michael giving him a quizzical expression but the other boy had apparently resolved to say as little as possible to the whole group so remained thankfully quiet.

Tuning into Barbara’s conversation in an attempt to will down the blush currently adorning his cheeks, Gavin found that surprisingly difficult due to the fact all his brain wanted to focus on was the comfortable weight of Jeremy pressing against his side. Even as Barbara explained that her mother was furious with her for applying a hair-colour potion to her usually blonde locks without telling her, Gavin was trying to steady his heartbeat. _What the hell is going on?_ Even for him the reaction to Jeremy’s return was a little… extreme.

He’d think about that at another time though. Right now he was just glad to have all of his friends back with him. Hogwarts was already beginning to feel like home again.

 

_\- RT -_

 

The match against Slytherin had Gavin feeling nervous for a number of reasons. He was eager to prove himself to the naysayers like Lawrence Sonntag and his friends, determined to prove that Ryan taking a chance on him wasn’t a mistake and worried that having his friends on the competing side would affect his performance.

Apparently he wasn’t the only one consumed by these kind of thoughts because before Gavin could even step into the great hall for breakfast a hand grabbed him by the wrist and Gavin quirked his head to see the culprit was Jeremy. “Can we talk?” the Slytherin boy asked, his lips curved into an uncharacteristic frown.

A pang of worry shot through Gavin and he quickly nodded. “Uh, yeah. Sure,” he mumbled, allowing Jeremy to pull him into one of the small broom closets just off the entrance hall. There wasn’t much space in the closet but Gavin had always felt comfortable with Jeremy so he wasn’t really all that bothered by it. The other boy paced the small space, barely getting three steps in before turning and Gavin watched, growing more concerned by the second. “What’s wrong, J?”

“I’m nervous about today,” the other confessed. “About today’s match.” _Bit odd_.

“What? Why?” Gavin asked, frowning in confusion. This was hardly the first time Jeremy had played competitive quidditch and not even against Gryffindor, the only difference was - well, _him_.

Jeremy had no immediate reply. He flashed a guilty smile and ducked his head for a moment, finally ceasing his pacing to rest with his back against the stone wall. “Well… you,” he whispered, “I just-- I feel like I’m going to be distracted out there.”

“Distracted?” Gavin questioned, perhaps more concerned than before once the other had confirmed that he was the reason for those nerves. He wasn’t sure what meaning there was behind Jeremy’s words because there had to be _something_. “Why would you be distracted?”

“You know, I--” Jeremy broke off, laughing and scratching at the back of skull. Gavin watched in amazement as the other boy’s brown hair began to turn a deep blue like Gavin’s own Quidditch robes. “I just don’t want you to get hurt. I’m gonna have to keep an eye on you.”

A surprised laugh escaped Gavin’s lips before he could stop himself. “Don’t be silly! You don’t need to do that, are you serious?” he gasped, shaking his head. “I’ll be fine, you don’t need to worry about me!”

The nervous smile dropped from Jeremy’s face then, replaced by an expressionless thin line as his shoulders slumped. “Right. Sure,” he muttered, nodding. “I’m just being stupid. Don’t worry about it.” His hair began to fade back to his natural colour at that while he wiped down his emerald Quidditch robes to remove any dust it had attracted in the small confined space. “Good luck out there.”

Gavin smiled brightly, reaching out to ruffle his friend’s hair. “You too, J. Just don’t get _too_ lucky, yeah? Ravenclaw could do with a win.”

 

_\- RT -_

 

Ravenclaw did in fact manage to score a win against Slytherin, although they merely scraped by with thirty points ahead. The Slytherin team chasers were a fearsome unit, consistently evading their Ravenclaw counterparts and sending Miles and Gray crazy as they desperately tried to diminish the number of opponents by firing bludgers their way. In fact Gavin wasn’t sure he’d ever seen Miles look so exhausted as when he trudged into the locker room after the match, still slick with sweat and grime.

Jeremy had performed typically admirably - almost frustratingly so as he stole the quaffle from right in front of Gavin’s nose a number of times. They even had a number of near collisions throughout the match and it was clear that Jeremy had taken his words in the broom closet to heart and wasn’t wasting any time worrying about him. Gavin was glad because he didn’t want to be treated any different from the others simply because of his personal relationships but it still felt strange competing against one of his closest friends.

As for Gavin himself, he didn’t feel too disappointed in his own performance. He had made a number of shots at the opposing hoops only for them to be blocked by the Slytherin keeper but he had managed to set up a number of successful goals with his fellow chasers. Every time Cole was able to score after completing a pass from him Gavin’s chest swelled with pride and he pumped his fist into the air in celebration.

By the time Meg had the golden snitch in her grasp they were all exhausted and ready to crawl back into their beds but just as happy to have secured a victory. Gavin finally felt like he understand just why Cole and Miles loved the sport so much and the adrenaline rush that came with competing in it.

The Ravenclaw table was full of celebration later that evening and Gavin was more than happy to join in, especially after such a hard-earned win. Every now and then though his gaze wandered back over towards the Slytherin table and he found himself feeling a little hurt that Jeremy never looked in his direction even once. Thankfully he had Miles on hand to distract him and by the time he eventually crashed in his bed later that night it was all but forgotten.

 

_\- RT -_

 

Ancient Runes became a little more bearable for Gavin now that the atmosphere between Michael and himself had become a little less frosty. They were still struggling under the tyrannical rule that was Professor Schnee’s strict class expectations but Gavin no longer felt like he was being attacked from all sides, especially when Cole shot him smug expressions from where he was sat next to the golden pupil of the class.

Every now and then the boys would take the risk of whispering to each other while Professor Schnee’s back was turned and Gavin was delighted to see that some of his more absurd questions left Michael smiling. Gavin had never hesitated to play the ‘fool’ in any given scenario, even if he wasn’t as stupid as he let on, but seeing the near-fondness in Michael’s smile was more than enough of a reward. For somebody who had so much _rubbish_ going on in their life, Michael still knew how to smile so brilliantly that anybody would be forgiven for thinking that there was absolutely nothing wrong with him.

With Adam Taurus and his cronies remaining low-profile since their attack on the Ministry before Christmas the majority of Michael’s paranoia had begun to fade. He was still being given the cold shoulder by the other Gryffindor fourth-years but as Gavin’s own friendship group had welcomed him with mostly-open arms (Miles remained hesitant at the best of times) he didn’t seem like he was in much of a rush to get back to being one of Blaine’s lackeys.

While Michael wasn’t exactly spending every waking moment with them, he was becoming a regularly increasing presence at the Ravenclaw table throughout the day and Gavin was glad to see him coming out of his shell more, interacting with Cole like old friends and quizzing Barbara on her subject knowledge. She took it all in her stride, seemingly pleased to have yet another person to compete with in her studies, especially as she continued to turn her nose up at any discussion of quidditch.

“What’s up with the brown hair anyway?” Gavin asked while they were walking back from Herbology one morning, realizing with shame that he’d been so busy talking to Jeremy that he hadn’t heard her explanations upon her return.

“Oh, my mum told me she was glad I was blonde like her,” Barbara replied dismissively, flicking her hair so it all rest over one shoulder.

“And you decided…”

“To put a dye potion on it to spite her, yes,” she confirmed, a mischievous grin on her face. “It’s the little victories we work for, right? Isn’t that what Professor Port always says?”

Gavin laughed. “He also says that they’re nothing compared to the big victories,” he pointed out.

Barbara shrugged in response. “I’m still waiting on my big victory,” she lamented, twirling a lock of her in her fingers. “This’ll do for now.”

Considering everything he knew about her relationship with her mother Gavin was quick to agree. The Dunkelman household had been something of a hostile environment the last time he’d been there and if deliberately changing her hair colour just to annoy her mother helped Barbara get through it with a smile then he was in full agreement that it was worth it.

Feeling temporarily reassured that Barbara was doing okay despite the circumstances, Gavin was in a rather good mood as he returned to Ravenclaw Tower that day. As such, he likely shouldn’t have felt so surprised when a roadblock appeared to put a stop to that, this time in the form of a rather annoyed Miles.

“So are you going to tell us why we’re suddenly friends with _Michael Jones_ of all people?” he demanded the moment the three boys were alone in their dorm. Cole flashed Gavin a guilty look before staring down at his bed sheets, apparently content to sit this round out. Considering the last time he had been on the opposing side of an argument to Miles had been during their phase as bitter enemies in their second year Gavin wasn’t sure he could entirely blame him.

“Why not?” Gavin replied, suddenly aware of the fact he had no idea how to rationalize it to Miles without giving away the truth. It was Michael’s secret to keep and he couldn’t break the fragile trust that had built up between them over the last month. “I mean he… he’s a lad, isn’t he? He’s alright, really.”

Miles stared back at him, dumbstruck. “Really, that’s it? That’s all you’re going to give me?” he demanded before shaking his head. “No, that’s not it. You hated the guy just a few months ago. _Hated_ him and now--”

“Hey, I never hated him,” Gavin cut in quickly, frowning at his friend. “I thought he was an arse, sure, but _hate_ is a bit strong. It’s not like he’s Blaine or anything.”

“He’s just as bad!” Miles fired back. “He was Blaine’s lackey for three years and now you’re just happy to forget that?”

“The boy has no friends, Miles! It’s not fair to leave him on his own!”

Things were getting heated and everybody in the room could tell which was why Gavin was so relieved when Cole finally jumped to his feet and placed himself between them. “Come on, guys, it’s not worth the argument,” he reminded them calmly.

“I wasn’t arguing,” Miles insisted, scratching at the base of his skull. “I just… I don’t get it.”

Gavin stared across at the other boy for a few seconds and sighed. He supposed he could see the situation from the other boy’s perspective. It probably didn’t make any sense to an outsider at all. “He’s alright really,” he assured him, “You just need to give a chance. _Please_.”

The seconds that passed after his request felt more like minutes before Miles finally nodded. “Fine, but if he stabs you in the back I retain the right to say ‘I told you so’.”

“Deal.”

 

_\- RT -_

 

“I think Ryan’s attractive.”

It wasn’t the type of statement Gavin really expected to hear from Barbara and as a result he very almost spilled his entire inkpot over his roll of parchment from his sudden movements of surprise. Barbara’s eyes were fixed on her own work but she had the smallest smile on her face that made Gavin dubious about what he’d just heard.

“Are you having a joke?” he hissed at her, glancing around to make sure their teacher was nowhere nearby to overhear their conversation.

“What, you don’t think he’s attractive?” Barbara asked, firing him a doubtful expression.

Gavin paused to think about it and very quickly realized that perhaps Barbara had a point. Ryan was pretty handsome by conventional standards with his broad shoulders, firmly defined muscles and wavy golden hair. He was charming, friendly and pretty much the perfect gentleman so what wasn’t to like? “Okay, yeah, I suppose he is,” Gavin relented with a sigh, “I just… didn’t expect it from you.”

Barbara frowned at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t know! Do you actually have a crush on him?”

“Um, duh. Hasn’t that been obvious?” she replied, scowling at him.

Now it was Gavin’s turn to frown. “Um, no. Since when has that been a thing?”

“Second year! Seriously, how did you not know?”

Totally unable to form the words that accurately expressed his thoughts, Gavin merely stared back at his friend with his mouth slightly agape. “You’re having me on, right?”

“No!” she hissed, an edge to her voice. “Ryan’s hot and if you wanted to put in a good word for me--”

“Wait, _what?!_ ”

“Come on, Gavin, be a bro!” Barbara pleaded, clasping her hands together in a begging position.

“I don’t even know what that means!” he murmured in response, ducking his head as the teacher began walking in their general direction to check on how much work the students had done. Gavin was glad from the temporary respite from the utterly bewildering conversation he was currently having. Was it really possible that he’d missed one of his closest friends having a crush on one of his other close friends for _two whole years_ now? It seemed impossible and yet--

“Gavin, please!” Barbara hissed once their teacher was a safe distance away again. “You’re good friends with him, right? He’ll listen if you try and set us up on a date!”

 _This could only happen to me, couldn’t it?_ Gavin’s desire to be a good friend made him want to do as she asked and yet it still felt so undeniable weird to think about. He wasn’t even sure what Barbara and Ryan had in common aside from both being unfairly good looking. Puberty had treated them both well and frustratingly it was yet to do Gavin any real favours.

“I’ll think about it,” he sighed finally, far too distracted to make a real decision at that moment. He kept his gaze firmly on the parchment in front of him, willing himself not to see what Barbara’s reaction was. The whole situation twisted his stomach for some reason and he wasn’t quite sure why but he had a sinking feeling it wouldn’t end well.

 

_\- RT -_

 

Much to Gavin’s relief, Miles did eventually start being more open towards Michael’s involvement with their group. It wasn’t as if they jumped straight into being best friends but the lack of silent hostility from Miles’ end went a long way in allowing Michael to come out of his shell even more. His sarcastic sense of humor was a welcome addition to the group, provoking laughter whenever he broke his silence long enough to make a biting comment, often at somebody else’s expense.

Every now and then Gavin caught Barbara giving him pointed looks, particularly if he was talking to Ryan and he felt a little guilty that he hadn’t done as she’d asked of him. He had no idea how to be a wingman though and how was he supposed to broach the topic without dealing with the second hand embarrassment for the rest of his life? Perhaps somebody more confident like Miles or Mica could have gotten away with it but Gavin was far too reserved for his own good and it really wasn’t benefitting him in this situation.

Ryan himself seemed to be distracted more often than not, juggling the pressure of being quidditch captain and attempting to stay ahead in his classes. He was one of the brightest minds in the whole sixth year and as such had something of a reputation to uphold, especially when the teachers obviously favoured him. It was obvious that the stress was getting to him too, from the dark lines under his eyes to the lack of patience he suddenly possessed in any conversation. Gavin practically felt guilty for wasting his time whenever they spoke and that was only another reason he was holding back on sharing Barbara’s interest in him.

As if having Ryan in a strange mood wasn’t bad enough, even Jeremy seemed to be acting a little more distant than usual. Their Potions lessons were spent in near-silence compared to their usual nonstop chatter whenever Professor Oobleck’s back was turned and even though Gavin told himself he was just being neurotic he couldn’t help but wonder if he’d done something wrong. Cole didn’t seem to think there was anything different about the other’s behavior and Trevor had all but dismissed it when he asked, neither of which seemed overly convincing to Gavin’s ears.

All the strange behaviour from his friends was beginning to have an effect on Gavin too so by the time their quidditch practice was invaded by the Gryffindor team he found himself wishing that he hadn’t left his wand in the locker room so he could hex the smug look off Blaine’s face.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Ryan demanded, hopping off of his broom and marching towards the Gryffindor team captain. Gavin knew very little of Burnie Burns outside of what Ryan had told him about their short-lived friendship but it was enough to make him angry on his friend’s behalf. The fact the Gryffindor boy looked completely unapologetic for invading their practice session didn’t exactly help either.

“The pitch is big enough for two teams,” Burnie countered, an infuriating grin decorating his handsome face. “Come on, buddy, what’s wrong with a bit of healthy competition?”

“Don’t call me that,” Ryan snapped, his voice dripping with anger. “I booked the pitch, Burns. Get the hell out of here before I make you.”

“I think that’s a threat, captain!” Blaine spoke up from a short distance behind Burnie. A chorus of jeers spread around the Gryffindor team, spiking Gavin’s own desire to attack. From an outsider’s perspective they looked like a group of overgrown apes and they certainly weren’t acting much better either.

“Stop brown-nosing, Gibson,” Miles spat. The words had an immediate effect, provoking Blaine into marching forward before Burnie reached out to stop him.

Ryan stood his ground at the head of the group, placing his hands on his hips and raising his eyebrows. “Get out of here, Burns. I’m not going to ask again.”

Burnie took a step forward until there were mere inches between the two sixth-years. The atmosphere was tense and the rest of their teams stayed silent even as Burnie whispered something that only Ryan could hear.

Finally the Gryffindor captain stepped back but his smug expression was short-lived before Ryan lunged forward and struck him across the face with his fist. _Bloody hell!_

Burnie dropped down to his knees, clutching at the side of his face. Several tense seconds followed before he snapped back to his feet and delivered a swift punch straight to Ryan’s gut, toppling him over to the grass. Miles and Gray surged forward in response, right as Blaine and another of Gryffindor’s chasers did the same - only for somebody to dive between them.

The yellow trim on the new arrival’s robe revealed him as a Hufflepuff and the faint presence of stubble adorning his jawline suggested that he was one of the older students. His wand was outstretched and he pointed it from side to side, targeting the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor teams in equal measure. “This is stupid,” the Hufflepuff boy growled. “You’re all stupid.”

“I thought Hufflepuffs were supposed to be _nice_ ,” Cole hissed in Gavin’s direction, earning a roll of his eyes in response.

“Stay out of this, Geoff,” Burnie snapped, shooting a fiery glare towards the new arrival.

The Hufflepuff boy, _Geoff_ apparently, merely shrugged. “Come on, Burnie. You know how good I am at the jelly-legs jinx. It would be a real shame if I had to embarrass you in front of your whole team.” The threat was delivered in such a casual tone that Gavin had to fight to stop himself from laughing. He didn’t know who this Geoff character was but he’d already decided that he liked him.

Burnie’s face burned bright for several moments before he finally began to back off. “You’re a bigger idiot than I ever realized, Ramsey. You should watch yourself,” he snarled, revealing just how unpleasant a character he really was. Gavin was really beginning to understand just why Ryan had so many issues from the fallout of his friendship with the other boy.

“Yeah, whatever. See you later, Burnie!” Geoff replied in an overly-pleasant voice, physically waving the Gryffindor team off. The moment he was sure they were far away enough, he rounded back on the Ravenclaws. Ryan had been helped back to his feet by that point but he too didn’t seem overly happy with Geoff’s presence. “You’re an idiot, Haywood. An _idiot_ ,” the Hufflepuff sighed. “Don’t make me intervene again.”

Wiping dirt from his face, Ryan gave the other a curt nod and very quickly turned his back on him. “Alright, everybody, back on your brooms!” he demanded, his voice deeper and angrier than it had ever been in recent memory. “Let’s go again!”

Needless to say practice resumed in complete frustrated silence after that.

 

_\- RT -_

 

It was something of a surprise for Gavin that out of all of his friends, Michael was the one who seemed to detect that something was wrong with him. He had been sat by himself out on the grass outside of the castle, enjoying the sighs of winter fading into spring, when the curly-haired boy took a place beside him. “Everything okay?” he asked quietly, “You seem… distant.”

Gavin sighed. He wasn’t sure he had any simple answer for the other because he wasn’t even sure how to describe his current feelings and thoughts. He didn’t think even he understood exactly how he was feeling. “I don’t know,” he replied honestly.

“You don’t have to talk about it,” Michael assured him. “We can just sit here.”

“I think that would be nice,” Gavin agreed. Michael was the last person in the whole he needed to deal with any more burdens upon his shoulders and besides, Gavin wasn’t even sure he knew how to vocalize what was playing around in his mind. With the threat of Adam Taurus still looming above everybody’s heads his classmates were still all feeling incredibly tense and that had an effect on him too. He was just so _uneasy_ and he wanted nothing more than to make things better for his friends who were struggling, Michael included.

Unfortunately that was much easier said than done.

 

_\- RT -_

 

 _MINISTRY SPY FOUND DEAD IN KENT_. It was hardly the cheeriest headline Gavin had ever seen in his life but it seemed to have people abuzz with chatter and of course he couldn’t help but be curious as he spied Kerry reading the article on the front page of the Daily Prophet over breakfast. “What’s going on?” he asked, sitting down across from the Gryffindor boy and next to his Hufflepuff friend Chris.

“The Ministry apparently sent out someone to spy on Adam Taurus,” Kerry explained. “They thought he was working out of Kent and well, I guess they were right. They found him dead this morning and apparently it was _not_ pretty.

“This whole Taurus thing creeps me the hell out,” Chris whispered, shivering for good measure. “I wish he would just… go away.”

Gavin had to hold himself back from laughing. “Something tells me it’s not going to be as easy as that.”

“Hey, Gav, while you’re here - is it true what people are saying about Michael’s dad? That he was friends with Adam Taurus?” Kerry hissed, leaning across the table in order to avoid people eavesdropping on the sensitive conversation. Gavin didn’t even have to fake the surprise that flashed across his face because he hadn’t expected the other to mention it. Of course he knew the true but as he’d thought when Miles addressed the matter, it really wasn’t his secret to tell. He couldn’t break the trust that Michael had put in him.

“That’s not true,” he lied, putting on as brave a face as he could manage. “Besides, Michael’s his own person. He shouldn’t be judged because of who his father may or may not be.”

Kerry hummed in agreement and shrugged, seemingly willing to let the topic go.

“It’s just, if he _was_ … people have been suggesting that Michael’s a Taurus spy. Weeding out the Muggle-borns and half-bloods,” Chris suggested, sending a burning streak of anger through Gavin.

“That’s utter rubbish,” he insisted, more forcefully this time. “Michael would _never_. If you hear people saying that then tell them to shut up, okay? It’s unfair.”

Chris quickly nodded, apparently alarmed by Gavin’s outburst. Kerry too looked mildly surprised and that was enough to tell Gavin that he had likely come across slightly too forceful. The last thing he wanted to do was cause whispering that there was more going on between him and Michael than just casual friendship. He was already risking Blaine’s ire enough as it was.

“He just doesn’t deserve that, you know?” he mumbled, fighting back the flush that threatened to cross his cheeks. “Nobody does.”

 

_\- RT -_

 

The reminder that Adam Taurus was still out there causing trouble for the British magical community provoked another round of bad moods from Michael. Gavin wasn’t sure he could totally blame the other considering the amount of whispers about his father had increased once more, but he wasn’t the only one. It was as if every pure-blood student suddenly fell under suspicion and while Michael certainly got the brunt of it, even people like Mica and Gray Haddock came under question. Mica was indignant, snapping at anybody who dared mention the thought in front of her, and even the usually demure Gray was far more agitated when talking to anybody other than his close friends.

The suspicion and panic spreading throughout the school was honestly more exhausting for Gavin than anything else. He thought it was rather hypocritical that everybody was up in arms and desperate to find people to blame, when he as a Muggle-born was able to stay entirely level-headed. Everybody knew that the Muggle-borns would be the first people Taurus came after if he gained the level of power he needed and yet Gavin hadn’t lost his cool over it for a moment. Several of the other Muggle-born students like the sixth year Gryffindor chaser Elyse and Hufflepuff’s Matt Bragg remained similarly unimpressed by the drama that had everybody so wrapped up in panic, which he was happy to see. They needed to rise above it rather than give into the madness.

Thankfully everybody in Gavin’s immediately friendship group was capable of keeping a cool head and Adam Taurus stayed mostly out of their discussions, especially when Michael or Mica were present. Instead those on the Ravenclaw and Slytherin Quidditch teams exchanged news of how their practices were going and made overdramatic impressions of their team captains. Gavin was pretty sure that Ryan overheard his deep-voiced mockery of the other’s voice but the older boy was smiling when their eyes met which was as much of a thumbs-up as he could really expect given the older boy was still acting far more reserved than he had in the past.

“ _You worry too much_ ,” his mother had written in her latest letter. “ _It’s one of the best and worst things about you. You treat your friends so well but sometimes I think that you take too much on from them. Promise me you’re taking as good care of yourself as you are of them._ ” Those words had stuck with Gavin since reading them because he knew that she was absolutely right and he was guilty of trying to make his friends’ lives better to the extent that he was left exhausted most of the time. His homework and attention during classes always suffered during those moments and he had noticed that behaviour spiking again now that he was regularly keeping an eye on both Michael and Ryan whenever he possibly could.

 _I_ _t’s not all on you_ , he reminded himself as he forced himself to smile back at Ryan. _They can fight their own battles, Free. They’ve both got bigger muscles than you for one thing._ The thought was enough to make him laugh at the very least.

 

_\- RT -_

 

The approach of the end of the school year brought about a number of new issues that Gavin had so far managed to avoid thinking about. The prospect of spending a whole six weeks alone with his father had swayed Michael towards a never-ending sour mood and Barbara wasn’t much better either. Once again Gavin almost felt _guilty_ for having a stable home life and he could only wish that he could bring his friends back home with him rather than subjecting them to households where they felt neither safe nor loved. That wasn’t the type of environment anybody should live in.

Concerning his Slytherin friends, the accusations made towards her family had left Mica rather irate and eager to lash out at the slightest opportunity, while there was still something _off_ about Jeremy as the private moments between them became far rarer and increasingly tense for unknown reasons. If Gavin wasn’t so concerned about what the summer held for Michael then he likely would have wanted to investigate exactly what had happened to bring about this change of behaviour in his best friend, but there was simply too much going on for him to stop and worry about it.

Despite everything else that was going on around him, the upcoming Quidditch match against Gryffindor was Gavin’s primary focus. Ravenclaw needed a clear victory of at least two-hundred points in order to secure an ultimate victory and win the Quidditch Cup which meant that every single member of the team would have to work harder than they ever had before to make sure they maintained possession of the quaffle and Meg had a clear path to catch the golden snitch before Gryffindor’s seeker could even catch sigh of it. Preferably the more of the opposing team Miles and Gray were able to put out of play using the bludgers, the better.

The Gryffindor team’s invasion on their practice session had left bad blood between the two teams but nobody was more determined to crush the opposition than Ryan. His desire to win utterly consumed him, making him a no-nonsense leader who ran drill after drill throughout practices and demanded that they work harder and longer until their bodies were exhausted and begging for rest. Even Meg, his best friend, wasn’t spared from his new tyrannical attitude.

“Still find him attractive?” Gavin hissed at Barbara after a particularly gruelling training session that had them trawling back into the Ravenclaw common room long after the sun had set.

“Are you kidding? Of course,” she scoffed, her eyes firmly fixed on where the still-sweaty, still-dirty Quidditch captain was all but charging towards the staircase that would take him towards the showers and his dorm.

Gavin could only roll his eyes. He wouldn’t pretend to understand why Barara thought they might make a good couple but considering Ryan’s recent change in attitude he certainly wasn’t prepared to start setting them up. The older boy wasn’t allowing himself to think of anything other than Quidditch and Gavin highly doubted a distraction - even one as pretty as Barbara - would be appreciated.

By the time the Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw match finally rolled around Gavin was thankful simply because it meant the ordeal would finally be over and he wouldn’t have to go to bed with his body protesting in agony every night. His muscles ached but he was just as determined as the rest of his team to succeed - and mostly not to let Ryan down. He had so much running on this and considering Gavin still had his doubts over _why_ he was on the team he was determined to prove that his friend hadn’t made a mistake on picking him.

The first ten minutes of the match went according to plan - Gavin, Cole and Jules alternated possession of the quaffle between them and both Miles and Gray played excellent buffers to keep the opposition off them. Gavin found particular enjoyment in Blaine having to swerve upwards in order to narrowly dodge a bludger fired in his direction by Miles but there was hardly time to revel in that enjoyment before he was called back into action.

Sitting comfortably at sixty to nil, it was something of a struggle for the Ravenclaw team to _not_ get cocky. The only thing keeping them grounded (metaphorically, not literally, considering they were flying quite a distance off the ground) was Ryan barking orders at them from one end of the pitch as he circled the hoops, ready to defend at any moment.

Burnie was an obvious presence on the pitch with his broad shoulders and booming voice challenging Ryan at any given moment. He took clear objection to the Ravenclaw advantage but even despite his hands-on approach the Gryffindor team struggled to make any ground, scoring only one goal compared to Ravenclaw’s three over the next ten minutes. It put them eighty points into the two-hundred points they needed to score an ultimate victory so the pressure was firmly placed upon Meg to find the snitch and end the game already.

“Gav, look out!” Miles shrieked at him. Moving entirely by instinct, Gavin fired the quaffle towards Cole and dove, narrowly avoiding the bludger that had been fired his way. Turning on his broom, he watched his friend chase after it - too distracted to see the bludger hurtling across the field from behind him. It wasn’t aimed at Miles though, it was aimed straight for Ryan and with his attention occupied by barking orders at Meg, he was totally oblivious until the bludger collided with his chest, knocking him clean off of his broom and straight through one of the hoops.

As if the sight of one of his friends being hit by a bludger wasn’t enough to alarm Gavin, the jeering that broke out from the Gryffindor end of the stands turned his stomach. How could anybody cheer something like that when Ryan could be seriously hurt? Burnie seemed to be leading the jeers, flying above the Gryffindor crowd pumping a fist into the air and celebrating loudly. If Gavin’s wand had been on him he wasn’t sure he’d have been able to resist hexing him. “Come on, get your head in the game,” Cole urged him as he flew by, clapping Gavin’s shoulder in an attempt to bring him back to reality.

Unfortunately it became clear relatively quickly that having their keeper out of action had an effect on the rest of the Ravenclaw team. Every time they lost possession of the quaffle to their opponents there was absolutely no defense to stop them from scoring and within the next fifteen minutes their lead had been severely reduced until the scores stood at ninety to seventy. Even if Meg caught the snitch they still wouldn’t win the Quidditch Cup and they all knew Ryan wouldn’t forgive them for ending the match early.

By the time the game ticked past the hour mark it became pretty obvious that winning the tournament was no longer an option. Gryffindor had sped past them into the lead with one-hundred-and-forty to one-hundred and Gavin was utterly exhausted. His body was begging for rest and the sloppiness of the rest of the team suggested they were all feeling the same. As such, by the time Meg had the golden snitch firmly in her grasp, the most Gavin could do to celebrate their minor victory was hug Cole and begin an immediate descent towards the ground.

Once again they had found themselves in second place for the Quidditch Cup and the mood across Ravenclaw house was rather morose. Still, they would take winning the game but losing the tournament over losing both. _Minor victories_ , Gavin reminded himself as he dragged himself into the showers that night. _It’s the minor victories that count_.

He just wished that he didn’t have to convince himself to believe it.

 

_\- RT -_

 

Just as everybody expected, Ryan was in a rather foul mood when he was dismissed from the hospital wing two days later. Even Meg wasn’t immune from his wrath and Gavin noticed in the following few days that she was spending far more time with Ashley Jenkins, a Gryffindor sixth-year, instead.

Of course as Ryan was currently spending most of his time alone and she was growing tired of Gavin’s reluctance to be a wingman for her, Barbara decided that was the perfect moment to approach him. Gavin wasn’t present for the actual conversation, he only arrived during the aftermath where he found Cole and Miles with their arms thrown around their crying friend inside the abandoned classroom they had adopted as _their_ space.

“I just needed this one thing!” Barbara sobbed, hiding her face in her hands. “After everything with my parents and flying, I-- god, I’m so _stupid!_ ” Seeing any of his friends in distress left Gavin feeling frustrated and he felt both utterly helpless and totally responsible. She had asked him to start building bridges between them after all and he hadn’t done his bit which had led to her getting hurt.

“You’re not stupid,” Cole assured her.

“He was so _rude_ ,” Barbara seethed, “He told me that I was silly, that it would never happen…”

Miles fired Gavin a pointed look and honestly he wasn’t sure he could blame him. He knew that his friends weren’t necessarily mad at him but given he was the only one with a personal connection to Ryan they were likely expecting him to do something about it. Gavin wasn’t sure what he could actually do but there had to be something. It wasn’t like Ryan to talk to anybody like that which meant there was something seriously wrong and he needed to get to the bottom of it.

It didn’t take long to find Ryan. Gus Sorola, one of his sixth-year classmates, advised Gavin that he had last seen the Quidditch Captain down by the edge of the lake and followed it up with a warning that he was better left alone. Unfortunately that wasn’t a possibility, especially when Ryan was uncharacteristically ridiculing his friends.

“Talk to me,” he demanded, resting his hands on his hips while he remained a good few feet away from the older boy. Ryan’s eyes glared daggers into him but Gavin stood his ground, determined to get to the bottom of the issues that were clearly plaguing his friend. “What’s wrong?”

“Did she cry?” Ryan asked, his voice surprisingly hollow.

Clenching his jaw, Gavin simply nodded. He was doing his best to control his emotions and make sure the situation didn’t needlessly escalate but that was difficult when Ryan sounded so detached from what he had done, as if it didn’t affect him at all.

“I didn’t mean to upset her.”

“Really?” Gavin countered before he could stop himself. “You called her silly, Ryan. I know it’s not exactly up there on the list of offensive insults but that doesn’t stop it from hurting. You knew what you were doing.” Barbara was strong enough to stand up for herself but he was still protective of his friends, especially when they were hurt by others that he trusted.

“I just wanted to be left alone,” Ryan insisted forcefully, turning his back on Gavin to stare across the vast lake that stretched out across Hogwarts’ grounds.

Letting out a long sigh, Gavin finally approached and settled a few steps away from the older boy. “This isn’t like you, Rye,” he murmured. Couldn’t he see how concerned Gavin was about him? He just wanted to help, after all.

“How would you know?” The aggression in the reply caught him totally off guard and Gavin could only gape at Ryan as the older boy rounded on him. “We’re barely friends, Gavin. You just like getting up in other people’s business so that you can show off what a great life you have!”

The continued onslaught and biting closing statement caught Gavin by total surprise. The older boy's face flushed a deep scarlet from the burning anger bubbling inside of him, a look that Gavin had never expected to see from him. “Ryan--”

“The only reason you made the Quidditch team is because Meg vouched for you. _You’re_ the reason we lost the Cup,” Ryan spat, advancing on him. With shaking hands Gavin withdrew his wand from his cloak and stumbled backwards a few steps.

“You don’t mean that,” he croaked, suddenly aware of the tears in his eyes.

“Stop telling me how I feel!” Ryan roared, wringing his hands as Gavin flinched and took another step back. “You know what, I hope Dooley turns on you, I really do. You’re a child, Gavin, that’s your problem. You think the world is full of rainbows and blue skies but newsflash, it’s not! Life sucks for a lot of us and just because you can play happy families and preach about how all we need is to be a bit kinder doesn’t mean the rest of us get that privilege!”

It was hard for Gavin to believe that the raging young man in front of him was the same one he had known for the past three years. He seemed so far removed from the calm and collected third year he had met in the library so long ago and Gavin couldn’t help but notice how much thinner his cheeks were and how loose his robes suddenly appeared on him. At some point over the past year he had lost a considerable bit of weight and Gavin had been too blind to notice.

“Ryan--”

“Leave me _alone!_ ” the older boy hissed, finally producing his wand from his pocket and raising it. The intention was crystal clear - if he didn't leave, something bad would happen. Maybe Ryan would feel apologetic after the fact but he'd still do it.

Gavin could hardly believe how the conversation had unfolded. He had never expected to be facing off with the boy who had acted as a mentor to him over the past three years and it was completely emotionally draining. Lowering his own wand after a moment of hesitation, he wiped away the tears that had spilled onto his cheeks and began staggering away.

 _He doesn’t mean it. He doesn’t mean any of it_.

Once again Gavin found himself wishing he could believe his own thoughts.

 

_\- RT -_

 

“Please tell somebody.”

“Gavin, let it go. It’s not your problem,” Michael huffed, evidently sick of repeating the same conversation over and over.

“It’s eating you up inside!” Gavin insisted, fighting back at the frustration that was once again clawing desperately at his brain to take control. He couldn’t lose his cool again, not when the situation was so unsteady.

Michael fixed him with a steady glare and shook his head. “I can’t, Gav. I _can’t_.”

 _Can’t or won’t?_ It was a question Gavin wasn’t sure he wanted the answer to. He wanted to believe the best in Michael and even though he knew that the other was under immense pressure because of his situation, couldn’t he see that admitting to Professor Ozpin about his father’s involvement with Taurus might potentially save people’s lives? There was a bigger picture involved and Gavin felt rather guilty at his anger towards Michael for being unable to see it.

 _This is what Ryan was saying. You think you can judge everyone else because you’re not in their shoes._ It was certainly an unkind reminder.

 

_\- RT -_

 

Gavin rarely mentioned his regular conversing with his parents through his owl, Gruchy, for fear that his friends might tease him. When he received an offer (in reality, worded more like an instruction) to invite his friends over for a week in the summer though he knew he had to bring it up. Thankfully given the tense atmosphere that had once more settled upon their oh-so-unfortunate group, there was no teasing but rather a sense of relief spreading around the group.

“I’m so up for that. Your parents are _great_ ,” Miles replied enthusiastically, clapping him on the back and turning to look at Cole. “You in?”

“I can probably get my parents to agree, yeah,” he said in response.

“I should warn you that they’re Muggles in a Muggle neighborhood. There won’t be any backyard Quidditch and you’ll have to watch how loud you talk,” he advised the rest of the group, glancing around at the numerous friends that had all gathered on the Slytherin table.

Mica rolled her eyes. “I already have plans,” she replied dismissively.

“Same,” Lindsay echoed, nudging Kdin in the side who quickly agreed with her friend.

Gavin’s attention quickly turned to Jeremy and he smiled, feeling hopeful that they could enjoy some more of their summer together only to get a shake of his head in response. “Can’t. Busy,” he grunted before returning to his new habit of avoiding Gavin’s gaze. It was unsettling to say the least and Gavin's heart dropped.

“Well I’m in,” Trevor announced, breaking the silence, “If anything it’ll be great research for Muggle Studies.” That earned a small chorus of laughs but by that point Gavin’s attention was already fixed on the one person at the table who was yet to speak up: Michael.

“What about you, boi?” he asked carefully, knowing that talking about summer was treading dangerous ground. Truth be told Gavin didn’t feel all too comfortable with the thought of Michael being trapped with his father and quite possibly Adam Taurus and his supporters for six weeks but he also knew there was little he could do to try and stop that from happening.

“I’ll try,” Michael replied after a moment, his smile weak and making no promises. They both knew it was highly unlikely that he would be allowed to visit - Michael’s father was a supporter of somebody who wanted to eliminate muggle-borns and all other “ _unworthies_ ” from the magical community after all. That didn’t exactly fill Gavin with much hope.

A few weeks prior and Gavin might have thought of inviting Ryan, but after their most recent encounter that wasn’t exactly a possibility anymore. They hadn’t made any contact since and Gavin did his best to avoid the older boy whenever he could. While there was no hiding it from his friends at the school who knew something was wrong, he had deliberately avoided mentioning it in his letters home. He knew his parents would only worry and he didn’t want to cause them any stress. He was a big boy after all, he could deal with his own problems.

With the end of the year approaching though, Gavin couldn’t help but feel sad at how things were being left between them. He had always seen Ryan as a mentor - the lone voice of reason among the madness that his core friendship group could easily devolve into. Now he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to look at the older boy the same even if he hadn’t really meant what he’d said. Gavin hadn’t ever thought that Ryan had a spiteful bone in his body, but that had certainly been proven wrong by their last encounter.

Thankfully he wasn’t quite alone in the _‘ignore Ryan until he goes away’_ camp as the rest of his friends - particularly Barbara - had rather resolutely joined him there. He and Barbara didn’t talk about their Ryan-related issues simply because the silence and the glances between them said more than their words ever could.

The clouds that rolled across the sky upon their departure from Hogwarts at the close of their fourth year promised a summer filled with doubt and worry for Gavin. The threat Adam Taurus posed to the magical community wasn’t about to go away on its own and, on a more personal level, neither were the issues plaguing Michael or Ryan - or even Jeremy. If anything, six weeks away promised to only make them even worse and Gavin could only hope that wouldn’t be the case...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unfortunately the upload of this chapter doesn't mean I'm back on schedule but as it was written up, I figured it would make a nice late Christmas present for you all. Happy holidays!


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